Something Out of Nothing
by Ruby Sunrise
Summary: Ororo Munroe is a new college student, struggling to adjust to both her own sudden freedom, and the feeling of being an outsider. Only when she is paired with Remy LeBeau unexpectedly does she begin to find a kindred spirit, someone who can help her overcome her past to be successful in her future.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Oh, a brand-new story feels so good to publish! I've had parts of this one written out for years and finally got enough of it together to put up. While X-Men are not my intellectual property, every one of these story ideas are mine. Enjoy, and please review!**

Something Out of Nothing

"Have you seen the new girl?" The whispers blew through the small New England campus like an autumn gale, swirling in and out of nearly everyone's conversation. It was the middle of September, and a particularly striking student had just transferred to the college, well beyond the regular admittance date. "She's beautiful," some reported in awe, while others scoffed bitterly at the sight of her. More than one jealous female secretly brooded, _I guess it's easy to get in when you look like that, even if it's been months since admissions closed._ Of course, no one could know that this new student had graduated high school at the top of her class, and was coming in to the college with a 4.0 GPA. But why had a girl who was so obviously intelligent not applied with the rest of her classmates back in the spring? This question and others like it merely added to the air of mystery that she seemed to be cloaked in; the only thing that was certain was that no one had ever come through the school like her.

...

She could feel their eyes everywhere she went. When Ororo Munroe had been accepted into the college so unorthodoxly, she'd realized that coming in almost three weeks late to begin classes would be difficult, but it wasn't until actually moving into her dorm room that she discovered how alone she could feel there. "Hey Miss Thing, that used to be Amy's room," the girl across the hall snapped at her as she was carrying boxes in the first day.

"I'm sorry?"

"Don't act like you don't know. Don't act like you didn't jump at the chance to get a single when you found out someone got forced into going to rehab!"

The young girl stammered, not knowing what to say. "I…I had no idea. I never even knew that someone used to live in this room-"

"Like hell you didn't, you white-haired freak. What happened, your mama hit the crack pipe too hard when she was pregnant with you, and you came out looking like an ancient bitch? Stay out of my sight. That's Amy's room, and you swooped in and stole it from her. Now she's not even gonna have a place to stay when she comes back!" With that, the girl slammed the door shut, the sound echoing all the way down the hall.

Ororo was dumbfounded. She meekly slipped into her room and closed the door behind her, putting her box down and turning towards the mirror. _I should just dye it; I've always said that. _She touched her waist-length hair, thickly pulled back into a curling ponytail. People had always been quick to comment on the unique color of her hair; after all, what other eighteen year old had a completely silver mane? Although it suited her, accenting her deep brown skin and cerulean eyes, it had been hard to grow up so obviously different from the other children around her. She had kind of hoped that with all the experimenting that college students do with piercings, tattoos, and hair color that she wouldn't stick out as much, but that clearly wasn't going to be the case. She tore open the box she'd been holding and put a baseball cap on, pulling her dense ponytail through the hole in the back, hoping it would make her mane less noticeable. She adjusted it in the mirror before moving back over to her door to scan her peephole for any sign of her angry neighbor. Upon seeing that the entrance to the girl's room was still tightly closed, Ororo quickly escaped to bring up the rest of her things, hoping against hope that she wouldn't meet the offensive girl again that day.


	2. Chapter 2

Something Out of Nothing

If Ororo thought moving in was difficult, beginning to take classes had been even worse. She didn't have much money and had only been able to attend this school after winning several scholarships for her achievements. The only books she'd been able to get were so worn out that the pages had come loose, and the graffiti in them overwhelmed the printed information. She was extremely embarrassed to use them in class, especially since the third day, while holding a particularly heavy Introduction to Western Literature book, half of it had broken away from its binding and slammed to the floor with a noise so loud that even the teacher paused in his lecture to stare at her. She had quickly gathered her things and left, feigning a sudden urge to go to the bathroom, but instead slunk back to her room, mortified.

Her dorm room was really the only place where she found any comfort. Though it was sparsely decorated, pictures of her and her best friend were hung over the bed, and her various plants lay safely on the ledge of her sliding glass window. Her desk was clean, a picture of her old dog propped up on it; she had passed away unexpectedly earlier in the year, but Ororo never let herself think of that. She had always been a constant companion to her when no one else had. Her meager clothes hung neatly in her closet, while her shoes lay in rows beneath them, and her coffeepot and miniature fridge sat next to each other on top of the dresser.

Although it wasn't even noontime yet, Ororo slid underneath her down comforter, a parting gift from her best friend, Alison. _She would never have gotten so embarrassed that she left class_, she couldn't help but think._ God, I wish she wasn't a thousand miles away in Florida right now_. Ali was the kind of person who didn't just crave adventure, she actively sought it out. When it came time to choose colleges, she picked one in as different a climate as possible, just to try something new, and as far as Ororo could tell, was having a blast wreaking havoc on her new school. She'd been so proud when Ororo had gotten into college as well…in fact, she could almost still hear her voice, ringing in her ears. _"Good for you girl, you did it! No matter what's happened to you in your life before, __**this**__ is a fresh start, and you're gonna love it. Just try not to be so damn shy, huh? Channel a little of that tempest I know you have raging somewhere inside of you!" _Ororo blinked back sudden tears. She didn't feel like there was much of anything powerful inside of her at the moment…the most significant interaction she'd had with anyone since she'd gotten to school was with the accusatory girl across the hall the first day, and she had actively managed to avoid her since then. _Well, it's not like I haven't spent my whole life learning to stay out of people's way, _she thought dejectedly. Glancing at the clock, she realized that she had a little over an hour until her next class began. _I guess I should get up and eat something. _But the bed was so warm and inviting, and such a comfort after her difficult week that she curled up in it and quickly fell fast asleep.

...

Ororo's cell phone going off was what eventually woke her up. Bleary-eyed, she glanced at the clock on her desk, wondering who was calling her in the middle of the day, but she leaped out of bed when she saw that it was almost five o'clock. _Damn it! I slept through all the rest of my afternoon classes! _She stumbled as she reached for the phone that she'd left atop her wall shelf, and picked it up right before it was about to go to voicemail. "Hello?" She answered throatily.

"Hello, Ororo, this is Jean Grey, from the academic counseling office here at the school."

_Oh no. _"Um, hi."

"I'm sorry to call you so late; I'm actually just about to leave myself in a little bit, but is there any chance you could come down to my office now so we can talk?"

_Shit! _"Uh, sure. I'll be there as soon as I can find it. Where are you located?" She brushed her hair while getting the directions, hastily thanked the woman on the phone, and sprinted out of the room towards the building she'd been asked to meet her in. _I can't believe this; I can't believe I slept through a day of classes! The reason they let me in even though admissions had already closed was because of my academic standing, and I __**promised **__to be at every class without fail. They're gonna throw me out, and it's the first damn week of school! _Anxiety jolted through her body, accelerating her feet as she frantically searched for the right building. Upon finding it, she rushed inside and began climbing the stairs, trying to calm down at the same time. _Maybe you'll just get a warning, maybe you won't have to go home after all, _she reasoned, but that didn't quell her nerves in the least…the mere possibility of having to return home after expulsion made her stomach tangle in knots.

Eventually she reached the correct floor, and found the door that had 'Jean Grey' scripted across it on a mounted plaque. Ororo knocked anxiously, and was promptly invited in by a red-haired woman with emerald eyes. "Hello, my dear! My, that was fast. What did you do, sprint here?" She chuckled in a kind manner while Ororo smiled weakly. "Here, come and sit down. Do you want a water bottle?" The young girl nodded, and Jean handed her one, then settled back into her own chair. "So, how is your first week of school going?"

_Stressful, _Ororo thought to herself. However, her reply was, "Um, so far it's been okay."

"Just okay? I'm sure that's not what you were hoping for when you decided to come here."

Ororo avoided the other woman's eyes. "Not exactly…"

"What's the matter?"

She paused for a second. _How do you tell someone that people look at you funny when they see the color of your hair, and laugh when they see how messed up your books are? _"I'm just…having a hard time adjusting."

"I see. Well, a new lifestyle is always difficult to acclimate yourself to at first, but I bet things will get better if you can just manage to keep moving forward." Jean briefly contemplated the younger woman across from her, trying to gauge her feelings. "I'm sure you'd also like to know why I've called you here today."

Ororo nodded politely, waiting for the bomb to drop.

"Honestly, I was just worried about you. A couple of your teachers sent me emails to let me know that you'd missed their classes today, and a third said that you walked out of his lecture and never returned. I'm aware of your special circumstances, that you had promised if you were admitted late to the college that you would attend all classes on a probationary basis." Jean noticed Ororo's ears burning with shame. "I'm sure you can see how important it is that you keep that promise. What happened? Was the course load that you chose not what you expected?"

_I had to fall asleep on my busiest day of the week! _"No, it's just that I was exhausted and came back to my room for a quick nap. I guess I lost track of time and overslept."

Jean knew that the girl in front of her had had perfect attendance in high school, so it was strange that she would suddenly begin skipping classes. "I can understand the need to escape, Ororo, if that's truly what this was about. However, because you so quickly abandoned the parameters that you agreed to, I'm going to have to put you on academic watch."

Ororo's eyes widened. "What is that? Is it like academic probation?"

"Actually, no. Academic watch is a program we have set up here for promising students who seem to be struggling. We match you up with a peer who has already been through the program, and they help you meet weekly goals and complete class work."

"Oh. So I'm not being sent home?"

Jean smiled. "Is that what you thought? No. You're an adult now, but not everyone has been raised to make good life choices, so in the program we try to provide you with a new set of priorities, ones that will help you get to where _you _want to go."

"Do I have to pay for it?" She asked quietly. Ororo hoped she wouldn't have to tell this woman how little money she actually had.

"No, it's a service we offer to all the students. The program is currently funded by a benefactor who went through the training himself, and then went on to be very successful. You may have heard of him...Charles Xavier?"

"The politician!" Ororo gasped. "He went here, and he was on academic watch?!"

Jean laughed. "He did go here for the first two years, but then transferred elsewhere to finish his initial degree. As I'm sure you know, later he went on to get his Master's and PhD, and he actually attributes his success to the academic watch program. At the present, he is attempting to devise legislation to implement it in all the state schools. Does that make you feel better about the whole thing?"

"Actually…yeah. It really does."

"Good." Jean smiled, and was pleased to note that Ororo returned the sentiment. "Come back tomorrow around the same time and I'll set you up with your new peer tutor. For now, try to have a better day. Do some homework, have some dinner, and just forget about everything that's happened so far. Let this be a fresh start." She reached over and squeezed the younger girl's hand warmly. "It was very nice to finally meet you."

Ororo contemplated her quietly for the briefest of seconds before answering with a smile, "Yeah, it was really nice to meet you, too."

_**...**_

_***AN: I do not own X-Men but I do own this story! Thanks for reading :)**_


	3. Chapter 3

Ororo was still trying to decide how she felt about essentially having a mentor as she made her way back to Ms. Grey's office the next morning. After all, she had made it through high school without **anyone **helping her, parents included. She had been lucky enough to be born intelligent, and had developed a great work ethic to combine her high IQ with. Of course, that may have happened because she hadn't grown up like other children. For example, she didn't know a damn thing about "Dawson's Creek," or who the popular singers were on MTV; she had never seen "American Pie" or been to a co-ed party, and while Alison Blaire had been her best friend for most of her life, there weren't many other people that she was very close to, outside of her own small circle of family. It had been hard to explain to other kids that she couldn't be out of her house past eight PM without explicit permission from her father…even after she turned eighteen. In fact, it had been a miracle that she had been allowed to attend college at all, and she was nearly positive that Alison's dad had spoken some choice words to her own father in order to convince him. _Thank God he at least respects Mr. Blaire, _Ororo mused. _I would have never got out of there if it wasn't for him. _The only reason Amahl Farouk, Ororo's adoptive father, even cared what Ali's father thought of him was because they worked in the same corporate office, and he knew that Mr. Blaire made more money than he did. That was why Ali and Ororo had been allowed to play together as children in the first place; Mr. Farouk hoped his daughter developing a friendship with his superior's child would help him get ahead.

Ororo shook herself as she approached Jean's office, trying to clear her mind of all these thoughts. What had happened had happened, and there was nothing that could be done about it. Therefore, she resigned herself to meeting the student who would help her, and softly knocked on the door.

When it swung open, however, Ororo gaped in shock at the person standing in front of her. He was easily the most handsome man she'd ever met face to face…his hair was deep auburn, and fell haphazardly over his dark eyes. He wore jeans that slung low on his hips, and a beater that showed off his well-toned arms, still tan from the summertime. The long, lean lines of his torso began to draw her eyes all the way down his body, but she was abruptly snapped out of her trance when Jean Grey spoke from behind him. "Ororo Munroe, I'd like you to meet Remy Lebeau. He'll be your guide through the academic watch program." The young girl was still too dumbstruck to speak, but managed to hold out her hand in greeting. He grasped it firmly and grinned at her with a smile that made her knees melt, then motioned for her to join him in sitting down in the chairs facing Jean's desk. _Why didn't I ever consider that I might get a male student as a tutor? _She wondered. Looking back, she wished she had at least thought to put on some lip gloss before leaving her dorm room. _Man, Alison's gonna __**love **__this when I tell her._

"So Ororo, Remy is a sophomore who completed the program last year, and I know you'll benefit from his guidance. He holds down good grades and still manages to volunteer a few days a week at the local Boys &amp; Girls Club."

Ororo stole another glance at her new companion while Jean spoke. _So he's intelligent, handsome, and he loves kids…man, I'm in trouble. _

"He'll be around for you as much as possible, but at the very least, you'll see each other every Thursday to check on how you're doing."

_New favorite day of the week – Thursday_.

"For now though, I'll leave you two to get to know each other better. If you'd like, after your walk, you can meet me back here and I'll answer any questions you may have, Ororo." Jean smiled as she stood up and opened the door for the two young adults.

"T'anks, Ms. Grey. I'll be seein' ya," Remy touched her shoulder briefly as he exited the room and started walking down the hall.

"Yes, thank you very much," Ororo echoed.

Jean put her hand on the younger woman's arm, stopping her momentarily. "I know you were probably surprised to see who we picked for you, but trust me, I think you'll both find that you have a lot in common. He's honestly one of my favorite students to ever go through our program here." She smiled again, and motioned for Ororo to follow Remy. "Remember, anything you ever want to talk about, my door's always open. See you soon."

As Ororo walked away, she couldn't help but smooth her clothes and hair. Her companion had apparently already started going down the stairs, and she took these few brief seconds apart to try and make herself look more presentable. _Who am I kidding, though? He doesn't seem like the kind of person who cares if someone's shirt is wrinkled, or if their hair is out of place. _She didn't know why she thought that, it was just an intuitive feeling she'd gotten when he smiled at her for the first time. His charm was more than just about being handsome; there was something deeper going on there that she couldn't quite put her finger on yet.

Ororo made her way over to the door that led to the stairwell and was surprised to find Remy waiting for her at the top. "Oh, I thought you'd gone down already."

"Wouldn't that make me kind of a dick to leave wit'out you?" He smirked.

Ororo blushed a little. "I guess so."

"Well, now at least you know dat I'm not." He held the door for her as she passed through it into the stairwell. As they began to descend together he asked, "So, where you wanna go so we can talk?"

"Anywhere that's not on campus."

"Oh, you been havin' trouble wit' de locals, huh? I know de feelin'."

Ororo snapped her head around to look at him. "Why? There doesn't seem to be anything strange about you."

"Oh, you didn't look too close then, girl." They had reached the bottom of the stairs and he held the door for her as they made their way outside. "Now dat we in the light, look harder."

She started at his shoes and looked up his body, trying to discover what he was talking about without making it too obvious that she found him highly attractive. _Keep it under control, he's just your tutor, _she tried to calm herself. But it was hard to do when the young man in front of her had such a cute butt, and long fingers that she wished were trailing over her body, and lips that were perfectly kissable, and eyes that– "Whoa!"

"Ah, you discovered them." He looked at her with red on black eyes, his emotions hard to read.

She didn't know what to say at first. "Uh, have they always been like that?"

"I guess so. Don't have any baby pictures t' tell from, but maybe dat's a sign in itself."

Ororo summed up her courage. "May I…look at them closer?" Her ears burned but she was pleased with herself after a second when he led her to a nearby bench, and they sat down together, perfectly level with each other.

He shut his eyes for a second, and then without warning, opened them up, expecting her to jump back like most everyone else. However, he was surprised to find that she leaned in a little instead, matching his gaze with hers evenly. He felt like she was searching his soul, and did everything he could not to blink. "So, what do you t'ink?"

Ororo cleared her throat. "At first I was taken aback, since I've never met anyone else who had strange eyes like mine."

Remy raised his eyebrow. "Your eyes ain't weird, Ororo. Some dark-skinned people have blue eyes, girl."

"Maybe, but their eyes don't cloud over when they get angry." She finally broke his gaze. "Someone used to tell me that…that they showed the evil inside of me."

Her involuntary shudder was unbeknownst to her, but taken in by her companion, so he put his hand on her knee for a second. "Hey. My earliest mem'ry is of another one o' the kids in my foster home callin' me 'Le Diable Blanc.'" Ororo didn't speak French, so she looked puzzled. "The uh, 'white devil.'" Remy offered up quietly.

Ororo reached for his hand and squeezed it briefly. "That's awful." For a minute silence reigned between them, but it was as if each had come to understand the other without knowing many details.

"Come on." Remy stood up. "I'll show you de best place t' get away from everyt'ing." Ororo joined him and they began walking around the perimeter of the campus, teetering on the edge of all she had yet known at the school. He led her down a specific street, then in and out of a maze of parked cars and busy sidewalks until they came to a recreational area that she had never known existed, smack dab in the middle of the city. It was filled with trees, and while leaves covered the grassy areas, the middle of the small forest held a concrete path for exercisers and wanderers alike. Remy pointed to it. "On de other side it come out on a neighborin' college campus. You can follow de main path, or stray from it an' discover lots of secret spots fo' yo'self." He started walking through the woods, touching the trunks of well-worn trees.

"You love it here, don't you?" Ororo said softly.

"Only place aroun' dat makes me feel like myself again." He looked at the sky peeking through the branches before turning back to her. "Come on. Let's walk."

The pair moved along the path in silence for a few minutes. Normally, this would have been very uncomfortable for Ororo, but for some reason, Remy's natural comfort in the forest put her right at ease. She felt like nothing could go wrong in that particular moment and managed to forget about every bad thing that had happened that week. After awhile, Remy stopped and smiled at her. "So, was dis a sufficient hideaway from reality or what?"

Ororo nodded. "It's so beautiful here. I've always loved being around plants and other growing things."

"Oh, so you a gardener? Not me. More like, a plant slaughterer." They both laughed. "No, seriously…once, I had a geranium I was s'posed t' take care of for school. I kept it on de windowsill to make sure it got enough light, right, but one day it was like, ninety degrees out, an' I came home t' find de plant and de pot all smashed on de sidewalk. I swear, dat geranium committed suicide t' keep me from messin' wit' it anymore." They both guffawed with laughter, the sounds bouncing in front of them down the pathway. "Oh well," Remy finally calmed down. "I guess I'll jus' leave de gardenin' up to Mother Nature an' enjoy de woods."

Ororo nodded, still smiling in the corner of her mouth. It felt so good to have someone to talk to who seemed to genuinely like her. _Ugh, I wish this moment would never end. I don't even want to __**think **__about going back to my dorm and doing homework._

"You so quiet, I gotta say," Remy broke into her thoughts. "Well, guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Ms. Grey tol' me you came in here wit' a 4.0 GPA." His companion's face turned a little red. "Hey, hey, not'in' to be embarrassed about. When you smart an' work hard, you **should** be rewarded for it. I guess I jus' figured dat most people wit' dat score don' have a lot of time fo' fun."

Ororo sighed. _You have no idea._

"Well, come on. Don't make me drag it outta ya! What do you like t' do when you jus' hangin' out?" His genuine smile completely disarmed her and she had to take a second to collect her thoughts before answering.

"Uh, okay. What do I like to do…well, I got really good at doing different hair styles as a kid. Like I can braid, and weave in fake hair, and do all those crazy updos and stuff you see in magazines."

"Hey, cool! Who taught you how t' do those things? Your mom?" Remy knew in an instant he had said something wrong. The look of pain in Ororo's eyes was unmistakable.

"Uh, n-no. I, um, taught myself from books." Ororo began walking a little ahead of him, almost imperceptibly faster than he was following her.

"Wait, wait," Remy reached for her arm. "Ororo, I'm so sorry." He watched her look a little beyond him and not quite meet his eyes. "I don' have one either. I never did, far as I know. Always been jus' me an' my Papa. Well, since he adopted me at least."

Ororo swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to un-tense her body. "I was adopted too. When I was six years old." Her halting words made Remy wonder if she'd had as rough a childhood as he had. "My father was living in Cairo at the time and found me in the streets. He'd already had a daughter, Sooraya, and become a widower before we met. Her and I are almost the same age and I think he took me in so she wouldn't be lonely anymore." She wanted to continue and say, _but he never lets me speak about my own mother, who I remember. _However, she was more than aware of how terrible the cost would be if her father ever found out, so she said nothing more.

After an awkward moment of silence, Remy sensed that her openness with him was over, and quickly changed the subject. "Well, fo' me, I love music, so most of my free time is caught up wit' dat."

"What, do you play an instrument?"

Remy laughed. "Well, I like t' pretend dat I can play guitar, but only a few chords. Jus' messin' around, you know? What I really like is Zydeco music."

"I've never heard of that before," Ororo replied honestly.

Her companion shook his head. "Mon Dieu, you don' know what you missin'! Dat's the Cajun people's soul all wrapped up in song."

"Ah," Ororo remarked. "I was wondering if that was where you were originally from."

"You already got me figured out den, huh girl?" He smiled. "Yeah, I'm a Cajun at heart. But my père, he's a wanderer, and I grew up in lots of diff'rent places, not the least of all here."

"Is that why you know the city so well?"

"No. My current home is close t' here, but not too close. Don't wan' de old man comin' to visit jus' anytime he wants!" He chuckled good-naturedly, but Ororo wondered if there was more behind what he was saying. She certainly did not want her father anywhere near her college campus if she could help it.

They had come to the end of the path and seen the adjacent college, turned around again, and headed back towards their own buildings. "How old were you when you were adopted, if you don't mind my asking?" She queried.

"Eight." The sound of their shoes hitting the sidewalk was the only thing that could be heard for a moment, but Ororo waited until he elaborated. "Took my Pops eight damn years t' find me. Certainly wish he'd ha' got dere sooner."

"But he's not your biological father, is he?"

The young man's eyes filled with mirth. "If you could only see him, you woulda never asked me dat question." Ororo looked puzzled so he continued. "He's only five feet, three inches." His companion's eyes widened.

"You must tower over him!"

"Ever since I hit puberty. But believe me, he can be scary when he wants t' be. Always managed to keep me in line." Once again, questions arose in Ororo's mind that she didn't want to ask out loud. Could he have had a similar childhood to hers?

"Also, I should also say dat he's de hairiest mothafucka dat you've ever seen in yo' life," he chortled. "And you can see dat I'm really not."

Ororo chanced a sideways glance at him, noting his smooth-seeming body and well-kept head of hair. She made herself turn away rather quickly though, as uninvited ideas of running her hands over his muscular shoulders began to enter her brain...

"But he's a good man. What about yo' father?"

Ororo tensed up at the unexpected question. It had hit her like a piercing arrow, and she insanely wondered what he suspected about her home life. This time, however, Remy was focused on the path ahead and missed the fearful look that she quickly contained, concocting instead a simple, unassuming answer. "He um, works in a corporate office. He never remarried after his first wife died, and Sooraya and I are all that he has."

Unbeknownst to her, Remy LeBeau had always been very good at reading people; perhaps that was what made him such a natural charmer. He noticed that she said nothing particularly personal about him, and that she had given this information without a lot of emotion in her voice. He let it go for now, but resolved to find out more in the future. "Well, we're back, for better or for worse." Ororo's face dropped in visible disappointment. Remy put his arm on hers. "Hey. You can tell me what happened to you."

For one wild moment she thought he meant in her life back home, but then realized that he was talking about the here and now, of course. "Oh it's...just stupid," she murmured.

"Bein' so unhappy in just a few days isn't stupid." He moved over to the hidden end of a garden wall on the edge of the campus. He intuitively thought that maybe she would open up if they could just remain hidden within the safety of trees a moment longer.

Ororo sighed, not sure if she even wanted to say it out loud. It all sounded so childish. "The girls on my floor, they don't..." _Like me, _she thought. But she couldn't bring herself to say it. "They don't uh, seem too friendly." She finished lamely.

Remy scoffed. "No surprise dere. So many of de girls at dis school t'ink dey got it goin' on when dey really got not'in' goin' on upstairs." He tapped his forehead with his index finger.

Ororo shifted her eyes to the ground, chuckling softly. It made her feel better to have someone else say that the people bothering her were morons. For a second it was like Alison was here with her, but thinking that caused pain in her heart. _Ali's a thousand miles away, _she thought, and was mad at herself when she blinked back tears.

"Are you missing someone?" Remy questioned thoughtfully. Ororo gave the most imperceptible nod but he caught it. "A boyfriend?" He asked, an unexpected sinking feeling happening in his gut.

"Oh, no, no," His companion immediately replied, acting like that was an absolute impossibility, and she missed the incredulous look in his eyes at her tone of voice. "Just my best friend."

"Remy knows how dat is." He stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned his elbows on the wall. "When I first got here, I missed my dog, my friends, my car, an' my privacy. You know how annoying it is t' have a roommate who gets high every night, comes home at three in de morning, an' eats all yo' food in de middle of de carpet so dat you find a pile of empty wrappers an' insects in de morning? Disgusting. I shoulda popped dat little weasel when I had de chance," he shook his head regretfully.

"I don't have a roommate actually," Ororo stated.

"Really, fille? You got a single?" She nodded. "I t'ink you're de type of person who's lucky, and don' even know it," he smiled. "A single as a freshman," he marveled.

Ororo shook her head. Lucky. No one had ever called her lucky in her life. Instead she'd been a burden, a disgrace on the family name; a curse, really. _Lucky. _ She rolled the word silently over her tongue before Remy started talking again.

"Well, at least now, you got one friend who will come an' visit you." Ororo looked around in surprise, unsure of what he meant by that. "Me, of course!" He said, laughing at her expression.

Immediately Ororo felt her cheeks turn red at the prospect of having him in her room with her. She wasn't sure if it was embarrassment or excitement; all she knew was that she was quite overwhelmed at the moment, and dearly wished that Alison was closer than a phone call away right now.

"So is dat all dat was bothering you? Are you sure dat de courses aren't kickin' yo' ass too?" He prompted.

Snapping back to reality, she managed to answer, hoping that the lack of light in their area had hidden her reddened cheeks. "No, they're okay." She hesitated, but then decided just to come out with the last thing that had been eating away at her. She felt somehow that he would understand. "But my books are hard to study from. They're really falling apart and...and I feel like people are looking at me when I'm studying from them because they're so covered in graffiti."

"What classes are you taking?" Remy asked, and Ororo told him her full workload. They discussed which books she had for each class, but she couldn't understand why he was asking her these questions until he said, "I took almost all of dose last year, an' I still have my books. You can use 'em for dis semester if you want."

It felt like a ray of light pierced Ororo's heart. "What?" She stammered.

"I know what it's like to have damaged t'ings dat you gotta use. It sucks. Just take my books, and den you can give 'em back t' me at de end of de semester. I'll get 'em for you dis weekend when I go home." Ororo looked bewildered so Remy blathered on a little longer. "At least dis way, you'll only have one crappy book t' deal wit' de rest of de semester. I never did get around to taking Psychology," he shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe next year."

Ororo felt so light that she thought she might float away, but at least she had regained control of her voice. "Oh thank you, thank you so much."

"It's just books, beb," he smiled, and she felt like she could kiss him. "Jus' take good care of 'em fo' me, okay?"

She would guard them with her life, she decided. A little theatrical, to be sure, but so few good things ever happened to her that she was feeling a little over-dramatic about this stroke of good fortune. _**See? He was right. You are lucky, **_her small inner voice reminded her. _Lucky to have met him, _Ororo thought.

"Well anyway, it was nice t' meet you." He took her hand and helped her out of their enclave. "I guess we'll be seein' each other ev'ry week now, so no need t' be a stranger at school. Say hi whenever you feel like it. I live in de main dorms, de third floor. Come visit if you want. Follow de Zydeco music," he laughed.

Ororo knew that now would be a perfect time to mention where she lived so that he could come and visit her, but she just couldn't seem to form the words.

"I'll see you again after I get de books fo' you dis weekend." He squeezed her arm in a friendly way. "Good luck, Miss Ororo Munroe." And with a smile that reflected the oncoming sunset, he left.

Ororo walked back to her dorm room in a daze, completely overwhelmed by all that had just happened to her. No boy in her life had ever been allowed to come close enough to get to know her, forget about someone as gorgeous as Remy LeBeau. Although she was having conflicting feelings, for once happiness overwhelmed her careful calculations of how to stay out of trouble, and she simply enjoyed the fact that for the first time in a long time, she had found a new friend.

–-

_***AN: Oh Remy, how I would have loved to have met you in college...I still do not own X-Men, but at least I own this story! Thanks for reading :-**_


	4. Chapter 4

The weekend passed by uneventfully; the days were filled with homework, studying, and Ororo's attempts to not get too hung up on her new tutor. Of course, Alison had been no help in that department. On Monday, after they'd once again pored over every minute detail of Remy and Ororo's conversation the week before, Ali voiced her final verdict. "He's a fucking dreamboat. There's nothing left to say until I see a picture of his – now how did you describe it? Oh that's right, 'exceptional body,'" she chuckled.

Ororo groaned. "You're really not going to let me live that one down, are you?" Her companion laughed and affirmed her fears over the phone line. "Fine. But it's cute that you seem to think I don't know you must have stalked his Facebook by now...you've probably already seen many pictures of him that I haven't."

"'Ro, I _told _you you could log into my Facebook anytime you want to look at stuff. Just because your father won't let you use social media (which by the way, don't even get me started on that right now,) it doesn't mean that you have to live unconnected."

"It's not that." Ororo shrugged her shoulders, despite the fact that Ali couldn't see her. "It just feels like an invasion of his privacy when he didn't offer up that part of his life to me."

Her friend scoffed. "You are too much of a good person."

"Yup, always been my biggest problem," she replied, laughing. "But seriously though, I am trying not to get my hopes up in this case. I mean, there is absolutely no reason why he would ever be interested in me."

"Oh, you mean besides the fact that you're both funny and kind, and not to mention drop-dead gorgeous?"

Ororo blushed. "Stop, Ali. Gorgeous people wear make-up. They have sexy clothes! I have jeans, t-shirts, and barely any jewelry."

"Please, those things only accentuate what's already there. I mean, don't get me wrong; I'm not against you getting a new wardrobe. You've been rocking the "my father is way too involved in my life" look long enough! But I'm just saying that you have qualities you shouldn't take for granted, like perfect skin, natural curves, and long, thick hair. And how about being a good person? Lord knows no amount of money can buy that."

Her friend's skepticism was still apparent. "Fine. That's all well and good, but you and I both know that there are extenuating circumstances that will keep things from happening with Remy." The reality of Ororo's home life didn't need to be mentioned aloud; it was already at the forefront of both girls' thoughts. "Not only that, who wants to be with someone who's never had their first kiss and doesn't even know how to drive? I'm just trying to be practical here. This is not a movie; in real life, the quiet girl never gets noticed. Not to mention the fact that I'm sure there are people throwing themselves at him all the time! He is much too beautiful to walk around without getting attention. I just don't want to be disappointed, Ali," she finished quietly.

"All I want to hear you say is that you wouldn't push him away if he did want to start something with you."

"How could you ever think that I would do that?" Ororo answered incredulously. "I would jump at _any _chance to leave my life behind and never look back. I have nothing to go home to."

Alison sighed. "I want to believe you, Ororo, really, but you just spent a lot of energy giving me all kinds of excuses as to why no one would ever want to be with you. It seems to me that your father taught you to think a certain way about yourself, and I'm worried that if the opportunity for a relationship came up, you might push it away for fear of the unknown." Ororo's silence on the other end of the line let Ali know she was mulling over her words. "And just in case you need to hear it again, he has always been wrong about you. Every negative thing he has ever said to you has just been his way of controlling you."

Ororo's breath shuddered as she let it out; she hadn't even realized she'd been holding it. "It's crazy because I know that, and yet, when it really came down to it, I spit out his words just now like they were my own anyway."

"The trauma he's given you runs deep, 'Ro. I'm looking for there to be more people in your life to help you heal from it...people like Remy, if he's actually as good as he seems."

Ororo's reply was quiet. "I just wish you could be here now. It's so hard to be alone in this new place without my best friend."

"I know. I wish you were down here, too. No one gets me like you do. Even though I've met friends, we don't have the same type of connection."

"At least you're out there meeting people. I haven't talked to anyone else since I got here besides Remy and that bitch across the hall. And to be fair, I didn't say much to her anyway." She still cringed at the thought of seeing her neighbor again.

Alison growled a little. "Man, if I'd just been there, she woulda got fucked _up_ for talking to you like that. You're gonna have to get used to standing up for yourself more now that I'm not around." _But when you spend your whole life getting told you're nothing, is that even possible? _She wondered privately.

Ororo could feel herself shrinking away from the mere prospect of confrontation. Secretly, she was more interested in avoiding any unpleasantries, rather than adding to them. "Yeah, I'll work on it."

Alison knew she wasn't being exactly truthful, but decided to let it go. "Anyway, new subject. Tell me how classes are going."

The companions discussed the basic courses they were taking, then segued into all the new experiences they were having at college. "It is so nice having my own room, I gotta say," Ororo mentioned. "No one barging in unannounced, my own lock and key; total privacy."

As chance would have it, right then, there was a knock at her door.

"Who's that?" Ali wanted to know.

"No idea. No one knows where I live, as far as I know." _And there's no one who would visit me anyway; I have __yet to say a single __word in class._ If she'd just been thinking a little clearer, she probably would have realized who it was, but alas, when she opened the door she was pretty shocked to see - "Remy!"

"Hey, chere." His lopsided smile caught her completely off-guard.

"What are you doing here?"

Remy could hear someone on the phone talking a mile a minute to Ororo, but she seemed too dumbfounded to notice at the moment. "Uh, sorry t' jus' drop by. I got yo' room number from Ms. Grey; de only reason she agreed t'give it to me was cuz I tol' her I was givin' you my old books, an' I didn't want you t'have to carry 'em all de way across campus. Dey're wicked heavy." He motioned to the large stack in his arms, and Ororo realized that she should invite him in.

Unfortunately, right as the words left her tongue, she happened to glance across the hall and found her rude neighbor smirking at her, clearly just having come back from doing laundry. Remy was unaware that they had an audience, and accepted Ororo's invitation without a second thought. "Want me t' just put dese down on de desk?"

His companion closed the door behind him, completely flustered by the sudden turn of events. "I really didn't expect you to give them to me until I saw you on Thursday." Ororo found that Ali was still jabbering on the phone line, which jarred her back to reality. "Oh Remy, I'm sorry. What I mean to say is, thank you for bringing those up to me. Hold on just one second; let me hang up with my friend." She turned away from him slightly and said into the phone, "Hey Ali? Ali? I'm sorry. I have to go."

"Don't!" Remy interjected. "Not on account of me. **I** could just go."

"No!" Both Ororo and Alison shouted at the same time, and Remy laughed. Clearly her friend had also been monitoring their conversation.

"Who's dat on de phone? Who is Ali?" He asked, leaning against Ororo's bed.

"Oh, my childhood best friend, Alison Blair."

"An' where is Alison Blair right now? I'd like t' meet her." His smile was quite disarming, so much so that while Ororo was trying to perch on the edge of the desk, she slid right off onto the floor instead.

"Damn! Ouch."

Remy chuckled good-naturedly and reached down to help her up. "You might as well sit on de bed wit' me; seems a little safer."

"He's on your BED?!" Alison yelped, loud enough for Remy to hear.

While he couldn't stop laughing, Ororo's face turned bright red. She managed to mutter out a "GOODBYE, Ali!" and promptly hung up the phone, promising to call her back later. Sheepishly, she turned back to her companion. "Any chance we could pretend that absolutely none of that just happened?"

Remy leaned his elbows back on her mattress and smiled. "I'll never say a word t' de contrary."

"Thank you," Ororo rolled her eyes heavenward.

"So, how was yo' weekend?" He reached up to brush his hair out of his eyes and Ororo felt her heart flutter a little.

"It was okay. Just caught up on work, really. Managed to get a little time to myself to watch TV."

"Oh yeah? What do you watch?"

"Nothing that's on right now. I just have some DVDs that I like, which I watch on my laptop."

"Alright, let's check out de collection." Remy moved over to her shelf and tilted his head to view her DVD titles. "'Saved By The Bell,'" he smiled. "Classic. 'Friends,' of course. Who doesn't love dat show? 'Living Single.' Girl, you got taste. I neve' met anyone else who even knew dat show existed."

"You like it too?"

"Yeah. Growin' up, de families I was wit' didn' want me playin' wit dey kids a lot, so I used t' sit an' watch all kinds of TV when dey weren't payin' attention to me." Remy felt a pang of heartache remembering this and Ororo could see it in his eyes. "Doesn't matter though; somethin' good came out of it. Watchin' all dose families on TV, lives I coulda had, I found out dere was a different way t' talk to kids, a good way dat didn't make 'em feel like shit. In some ways, I think all dem shows got me prepared t' meet my papa, t' know he'd be good to me." Remy smiled and Ororo realized now that he probably didn't have quite the same life situation that she did.

"How was your trip home this weekend?" She asked.

"Good. Seen my dog, Ace, seen my pops. But not until Saturday night. I had t' work in de mornin' at de Boys and Girls Club."

"Oh yes, Miss Grey said that you volunteer there."

"Yup, can't stay away from dem kids," he smiled. "I jus' feel like I know where they comin' from. Lots of 'em are growin' up like I did, an' I want 'em to see that they can be somethin' in life." He narrowed his eyes, remembering. "So many people tol' me I wasn't worth nothin', an' it sticks wit' you, you know?" Ororo tried to keep from tearing up; she knew exactly what he meant all too well. "I jus' want some kid's life t' be different because I was in it, even jus' for a little while."

_Holy shit_, Ororo thought. _What do you say to something __so beautiful__? _Luckily, Remy began looking around the room, perhaps a little embarrassed at sharing something so personal with her. On the window ledge, next to her plants (which he admired aloud,) was the DVD she had been watching over the weekend. "Oh hey, didn' see dis one before. Dis was my favorite show as a kid." He held it up and Cory, Shawn and Topanga's faces smiled at her from the front of the case.

"That was always my favorite, too. Alison and I would watch it every Friday night at her house when we were younger." Ororo recalled those nights happily; they were some of the few times she had felt like a regular kid. "I could watch that show a thousand times and never get bored."

"Who's yo' favorite character?"

"Shawn, of course," Ororo smiled. She had always secretly felt that Shawn would understand her if he were real.

"I always liked Angela myself. It was comforting t' me dat Shawn could have a good relationship, despite what had happened t' him in his life."

_Kind of gives you hope_, Ororo thought privately. "Yes. I choose to believe that sometime after the series finale, Shawn went to Europe to find her and rekindle their relationship."

Remy chuckled. "It's so funny how we can get so wrapped up in dese characters' lives when dey not even real." He gave a half-smile to Ororo, allaying her fears that he was making fun of her. "I always thought the same t'ing 'bout dose two. He **had** to go after her; she was de love of his life." Remy put the DVD case back on her shelf. "But anyway, I guess we should get down t' business. Dem books okay fo' you?"

"Yes, yes, they're perfect." Ororo turned her attention to the stack and picked a single one up to leaf through. On the inside cover she found Remy's name scrawled along the page. She ran her fingers over the signature lightly and her companion misunderstood.

"Yeah, so sorry. Some of 'em may also have some notes written in de margins of what I was t'inkin' 'bout at the time I was readin' 'em."

Ororo scoffed. "Oh please, don't even worry about it. It will be interesting to get a second opinion to my own ideas." She carefully replaced the book to its spot on top of the pile. "I really will take such good care of these; they mean everything to me." She met his red eyes with her blue ones. "Thank you for taking the time to go home and get them, and then also for carrying them up for me."

Remy looked away, slightly embarrassed. _Wasn't that the reaction you wanted, __for h__er to be pleased?_ He chided himself inwardly, but hurriedly replied that she was welcome, and that it was no big deal. "So I guess let's talk about how de academic watch program is gon' help you. Fo' me, I had no study skills at all when I got here. I barely skated by in high school, an' de only reason I got into college was because I scored high on de SATs. I know dat ain't true for you, though. Havin' a 4.0 average is no joke, fille. I figure you just got off on de wrong foot de first week here, an' all you really need is a coach in yo' corner checkin' on yo' progress every once in awhile. Sound about right t' you?"

Ororo nodded. "Yes, I can handle the work. I just let other things get in the way."

"Yeah, dat's what I wanna talk about next. You feel uncomfortable here, huh?"

She didn't want to answer one way or the other, but he could tell from her look that it was true anyway.

"I did too when I first arrived. People were weirded out by my accent an' my eyes. Fo' de record, I still let most people believe dey're contacts," he sighed. "Honestly, it's jus' easier than trying to explain a genetic abnormality t' people who aren't even close t' you. On de other hand, I also found ways to talk to people, to make friends." He took note of his companion's nervous look and continued anyway. "You're gonna be miserable here if you keep t' yourself."

"I know," Ororo said quietly, not daring to finish the thought running through her mind..._but I'm scared._

Remy's natural empathy discovered what she couldn't say, however. "I know you're afraid, chere. But I can help you t' meet people; dat's what I'm tryin' t' say." Ororo gazed at him questioningly, wondering what his plans were. "Maybe every week, you can come an' do somethin' wit' me dat's out of yo' comfort zone. On Thursdays I'll just help you look over an' see if you completed everythin' you need to for de week, an' den we'll try some new things." It was his turn to look at her, wondering if she would be down with this challenging proposition.

Ororo's mind whirled, unsure of what to say. On the one hand, it would almost be like dating him every week. _Except, not really. Don't get over-excited. He's just trying to help you get your act together. _But then another nagging thought popped suddenly into her mind. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but why would you even do this for me? We barely know each other."

Remy sighed, trying not to be hurt, since he knew she hadn't meant it the way it sounded. "I was kinda like you when I got here; scared, unsure of myself. Definitely uncomfortable suddenly bein' thrown into a new place. But other people here feel de same way too, an' you find dat out when you start t' make friends. Everybody's just lookin' fo' someone to not feel alone with." He leaned in closer to her, letting her in on a secret. "An' by de way, it helps to pretend you're not afraid. You put on a fierce face an' go out lookin' like no one can touch you, an' all of a sudden people wanna try."

Ororo was slightly shocked. "Does that really work?"

"Did fo' me," Remy chuckled kindly. "I don' mean you act like you lookin' for a fight, I'm just sayin' dat no matter what anyone says, I laugh an' pretend like ain't nothin' get to me. An' after awhile, dat confidence becomes a part of you an' you don't hafta pretend anymore."

Ororo nodded, thinking about all he'd said. "Okay then. What will we do when we go out?"

"It'll be a surprise most of de time, since den you can't worry about it, but you also can't prepare fo' it."

Ororo's stomach flip-flopped at the proposition but decided to concede.

"An' after awhile, maybe you'd consider goin' to a party wit' me on a weekend," he smiled. "I refuse to let you go through life wit'out goin' to a killer college bash." He had guessed right that she had never been to a college party before, but what he probably didn't realize was that she had actually never been to any party at all, except for Alison's birthday celebrations each year. Ororo couldn't tell if her stomach was becoming clenched in excitement or nerves. "But we'll cross dat bridge when we come to it, okay? Fo' now, I'm sorry t' say dat I gotta go." He touched her shoulder gently and she was very sorry to see him stand up. "Hey, befo' I leave though, can I have yo' cell phone number?"

Ororo heard herself stammer out a yes, but it was as if she was watching the scene from above, floating away on a cloud. She hoped her face wouldn't betray her pleasure at his request.

"Much easier fo' us to contact each other wit'out havin' to use a middle man, like the academic center." He texted his own phone number from her cell and then saved his contact information for her. Ororo got up as well, in order to open the door for him. "Remy, thank you. For everything."

"Petit, it was nothin'. I'm glad we spent some time t'gether...it's always nice t' have a new friend." He winked at her and was gone before she could say anything else.

Overwhelmed by all that had just occurred, Ororo leaned against her door jamb, still feeling hazy about the day's events. Jarring her from her reverie, though, came a voice that she had hoped never to hear again. "Dumb bitch. You're gonna get what's comin' to ya."

"What?" She turned to her neighbor, who stood in front of her own open door. Ororo almost wondered if she'd been spying on her, waiting for Remy to leave.

"You think you're somethin' special, huh? Like you're gonna be able to change him? He's gonna treat you the same way he treats all them other girls."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not out to change anybody."

"Oh, I see now," the other girl smirked. "You have no idea who he really is. Well let me tell you somethin'...Remy LeBeau got a different girl in his bed every night. He uses people for his own pleasure and never talks to 'em again." Ororo felt like she was underwater, drowning in this new information. "But actually, I guess that'd be pretty fitting for you. You love to steal things away from vulnerable people, and so does he. I'll enjoy watching him destroy you bit by bit." Her evil smile was all that she ended with, slamming the door on their conversation.

Ororo retreated into her own room, dumbfounded. _What the hell just happened?_ Could Remy really be like this girl said he was, so callous and uncaring, when it seemed like he could almost tune right into others' emotions? _But m__aybe he uses that to his advantage to get people to trust him, _Ororo contemplated. _How do I know that he __**doesn't **__have girls in and out of his bed every night? I've only just met him. _The worst part was that the possibility was there; everything he'd told her so far might just be a game he was playing in order to bang her. _But would that be such a bad thing? _Her devil's advocate whispered. Visions of his gorgeous body unclothed, wrapped around her, began to form in her mind's eye...but no. She would be terrified. She had never kissed anyone; in fact, she mostly hated to have people touch her. _And I would be heartbroken when, after it was all over, he didn't want me, especially since he seems so different than anyone I've ever known. _

Ororo was still completely at a loss for words when she heard her cell phone chime the notification of a text message. She flipped open the receiver and saw "Have a great week, chere :-)" from one Remy LeBeau.

She couldn't even bring herself to answer back.

* * *

***Man, having time to myself to write again feels so good. Thank you to all the readers out there, especially the faithful ones who watch for me to update. Please review, everyone! It really makes my day. I still own no X-Men characters, but I still also desperately wish I did. Luckily, this story is my own intellectual property, and I can at least make anything I want happen in it :-) Have a great summer everyone!**


	5. Chapter 5

The next three days seemed to slip by at a record-breaking pace for Ororo, filled with classwork, and worry over whether or not Remy LeBeau could be trusted. When it was finally time to meet him for her afternoon session, she was mentally and emotionally drained, and almost wanted to feign sickness, stay home and fall asleep.

What made her eventually leave the room and keep her appointment was actually the beautiful weather outside...Ororo had always been a sucker for lovely autumn days. It was a perfect sixty degrees out, and the trees were turning more colors than ever. She got lost in the reds, oranges, and yellows of the surrounding foliage as she walked to the meeting place her and Remy had decided on, the tiny copse of trees right outside the building that housed the Academic Watch facility. She was still unsure of where they'd be going or what they'd be doing, however, and she began to feel familiar pangs of nervousness as she edged closer to her final destination.

"Hey chere." She found that his companionable southern drawl still made her lower stomach move pleasurably, despite any misgivings she was currently having about their relationship.

"Hey yourself." She tried to smile to cover up her nerves, but he guessed what she was thinking anyway.

"Don't worry about t'day...I'm just easin' you in t' new experiences 'round here at first." He chuckled as she gave a perceptible sigh of relief. "How was class today?"

"Oh you know, interesting enough. The one I had right before this was developmental psychology, and the professor was talking about how younger children can't tell if two things are equal sizes if one is in a larger-appearing container." Remy looked puzzled, so she attempted to explain it a little more clearly. "Alright, so let's say you have two identical cans of Play-Doh, never opened. You show them to a little kid, opening them in front of him, and ask him which one has more in it. He says that they're the same amount. Next, you pull the two identical pieces out and make one pile into a ball and squish one flat. Then if you ask the same kid which shape has more Play-Doh in it, he'll choose the one that's the ball, even though he just watched you simply change the equal ones into different shapes."

"Dat's crazy," Remy blinked. "You think it's really true?"

"I guess I'd never really considered that idea before, but after the teacher talked about the theory, he brought his four-year-old twin girls in, and did a little experiment with them in front of the class. He had two bottles of water, unopened, exactly the same size. He asked them which one had more water in it, and they said they were equal. Then he poured one into a wide, see-through glass, maybe three inches across. He poured the second one into a thin see-through glass, maybe an inch across. Then he put them next to each other. In the thin glass, the water obviously appeared taller, so the girls picked that one as having more water in it, despite the fact that they had just watched their father pour equal amounts of water in each glass. The empty bottles were even still standing next to each other, right on the table." Ororo shook her head. "It was hard to believe!"

Remy whistled. "I almost wish my kids at de Boys' an' Girls' Club were young enough t' do dat experiment. I assume there's an age limit on dat kind of understanding, right?"

"Oh yes, of course. Apparently this mostly applies to pre-kindergarten aged children." Ororo began to rifle through her bag, looking for her homework plan for the week that she'd made to show Remy she was on track with her studies.

"So you interested in kids?" Remy asked her. "You didn' really say dat one way or de other before."

"Oh, yes. I've always liked them. Never had much of an opportunity to work with them previously, but child psychology is the major I chose. I just think it's intriguing to discover how formative experiences in childhood can help make us who we are as adults."

"Man, I hope dat's only true to a certain extent. Otherwise, I'm fixin' t' have some trouble in de future," he chuckled.

_You and me both, buddy._ "Well, whatever. If you're aware of your shortcomings, you can always fix them," she shrugged. "Nothing is set in stone." She found the paper she was looking for and handed it to him, waiting for his approval.

"Hey, dis looks real good. Now you jus' gotta stick to it, even when you get invited t' parties and on dates!" His smile was quite disarming, and Ororo was somewhat flustered by it. She assumed he was teasing her, and found herself blushing at his remarks.

_If only you knew that I've never been on a date in my life, _she thought.

Remy, for his part, pretended not to notice; her shyness around him was endearing in a way, and he didn't want to comment too much on it, for fear of making her feel like she had to change. "So, you ready t' get started for t'day?"

Ororo nodded quietly, zipping up her bag after putting her paper away again.

"Wanna know where we goin'?" Remy asked, holding out his hand to help her up from her seated position. He took her smile as a yes, and told her about a favorite record store nearby that he often frequented. "It's jus' a short walk from here, padnat. Ready to go?" She nodded, and they began making their way up to the main road, the one that led to the nearest square where the biggest cluster of shops was. "You're gonna love dis place...dey got every CD an' record imaginable."

"Do you have a record player?" Ororo asked incredulously.

"Yeah, it's de coolest thing ever. My pops saved it from de seventies...music sounds so much better on one o' those than on a CD player. You ever listened to a real record befo'?" He wasn't too surprised when his companion shook her head no. "Well den, Miss Ororo, maybe you should come visit my house some weekend t' hear one."

The smile he gave her was so radiant that at first, Ororo agreed quite willingly. When he turned back away from her though, the idea flitted through her mind that maybe this was just another one of his moves to get women alone with him. Her heart sank, and she realized anyway that it would be impossible for her to leave the school without lying to her father, which was very dangerous indeed. She resolved that she would not travel to Remy's home under any circumstances; it just wasn't worth the risk.

As they went farther down the main road, they began to pass people sleeping or panhandling in the streets. Openings for the train were on either side of the large, main artery, and the homeless lingered in these spots, hoping that people would notice and acknowledge them. Remy stopped to talk to a few of the people he knew; evidently he had learned some of the homeless people's names and stories. "Where's yo' dog today, Ramón?" He asked one middle-aged man.

"I left him with my son," the man replied gruffly. "He's getting money in another part of the city, and it's rougher there. He needs the dog for protection." Ororo was silent as Remy gave him a couple bucks from his pocket, and told him he'd probably see him later.

As they walked away, Remy noticed Ororo looking at him. "You probably wonderin' why I gave him some money. People always be askin' me dat when I talk to de homeless."

"No, no. I wasn't thinking that at all, I swear," she promised him.

Remy shrugged. "I usually bring food in wit' me, but I forgot today. All I got in my pockets is some jacked up mints, and dose ain't keepin' anyone in high spirits." He looked back over his shoulder at the area the locals called "The Pit," the place where some of the homeless gathered, and other people tried to sell their artwork or music to the subway-goers. "I jus' hate how people go by dese folks every single day, never knowin' their names or who they are. Ramón, he came here from Mexico wit' his kids to escape de drug wars in his part of de country. One of his sons died tryin' to cross th' border; de other's here starvin' wit' him until he gets a job, an' it's been over a year since dey arrived in dis area alone." He shook his head. "I know some homeless people would buy alcohol wit' dat money to forget they pain, but Ramón takes care of his kid, an' his dog fo' dat matter, so it's worth it t' me t' give up a coupla bucks to him."

Ororo was silent for a minute as they kept walking, but decided to speak up when they took a shortcut through a small park. "I wasn't looking at you because I was judging you for giving money to him. I was just remembering being homeless as a child myself."

Remy stopped and turned to her. "I remember now, chere. You said dat yo' father found you on de streets. I'd forgotten...I'm so sorry."

"No need to apologize. It's just, I was thinking about how it used to make my day when someone smiled at me on the street in Cairo. I was all dirty, of course, and most people's eyes intentionally passed over me, like I was nothing, not even there. Every once in awhile someone would give me money, and it just felt so good not to be ignored. I guess that's why I jumped at the chance to leave with the first person who said he'd adopt me, my father. I mean, who knows if anyone else would have even offered?"

All reassurances seemed to die on his lips as Remy felt his stomach clench in empathy for his friend. He had been hungry and alone as a child, but never quite homeless. Unwanted, yes, but there had always at least been people around for him to make use of, in one way or another. And after all, his father had eventually found him and saved him, just like Ororo's father had, right? That had to count for something, he thought, except that he couldn't quite shake the nagging feeling that her experience with being adopted hadn't been exactly the same as his.

They kept walking and eventually ended up in front of the record store, and Ororo was the first to break the silence between them. "Wow, this is quite the hole-in-the-wall, isn't it?"

Remy felt himself laughing, despite the seriousness of their last bit of conversation beforehand. "Yeah, I come here when I want t' get away from everyt'in' on campus. Only a few people know about dis place. Come on, let's go inside."

When they got in, Ororo saw a small basement room stacked with rows and rows of CDs of every genre imaginable. Underneath the CDs were boxes of old records, and along the walls were columns of VHS tapes for several dollars apiece. The register area was covered with vintage band stickers, and behind it hung classic movie posters from all eras; Ororo saw everything from "Casablanca" to "The Breakfast Club" represented on the wall back there. "This place is awesome," she breathed.

Remy chuckled and greeted the woman behind the counter named Betsy. "You'll like her, too," he said to his companion quietly as they began to paw through the CDs. "She was born in England but raised in Japan, an' I swear, she always knows exactly what kinda music to recommend to people, wit'out even knowin' anyt'in' about 'em first. Must jus' be some kinda worldly awareness," he said wonderingly.

Ororo watched the woman called Betsy and marveled at her beauty and comfortable banter with the customers. She wished it were as easy for her to talk to others as that, but she got another opportunity to practice when Remy asked her a question.

"So what kind of music you like?"

Ororo found that hard to answer at first, since she had never been allowed to listen to much music at home. The first time she had heard the radio of her own accord (i. e. not in a store) was when she was eleven years old at Alison's house! Of course, since then, she had easily become addicted to all the various kinds of music that Ali had introduced her to; songs and artists in wildly eclectic genres. Unfortunately though, her new-found interest still had to be kept under wraps in her own home, due to her father's watchful and judgmental eye. "I guess I'd have to say that I like all the types of music that I've heard so far, but there are, of course, certain artists that I do not enjoy."

Remy snorted and asked to hear the dislikes first then, since he was always skeptical of people who said they loved all music. So far, he had met very few people like himself in the world, who truly enjoyed a myriad of musical genres.

"Okay, who do I not like...Taylor Swift. The Dresden Dolls. Lil Wayne." Ororo paused. "I'm having trouble thinking of another one."

Her companion let out an incredulous whistle. "You weren't kidding, dose are some pretty varied tastes. Okay, tell me why you hate T-Swift. Mos' girls I know be lovin' her hard!"

Ororo scoffed. "She utterly annoys me. I heard her say once that she writes most of her songs from a place of pain, or some crap like that. A place of pain? Yeah, right. All that's ever happened to her is that a boyfriend or two broke up with her. She's never experienced real life; she went right from being a pretty content teenager to being a superstar. She can get back to me when she does some volunteer work with people who have real problems."

Remy laughed hard and Ororo wondered if she'd said too much before he came out with, "Well tell us how you really feel, fille! I guess it's safe t' say you won' be dressin' up as her fo' Halloween."

Ororo chuckled lightly and replied, "Definitely not."

"Okay den, now tell me a few of yo' favorite songs, and we'll get to know each other like dat, too." His coaxing was accompanied by him moving closer, leafing through some CDs directly next to her. Ororo began to feel her heart beat a little faster.

"Alright. 'Wish You Were Here' by Pink Floyd." Remy nodded his approval and she continued. "'Stellar' by Incubus. 'U.N.I.T.Y.' by Queen Latifah. 'Keep Ya Head Up' by Tupac. And of course, 'All Along The Watchtower.'"

"By Hendrix or Dylan?"

"Jimi Hendrix, of course. I like Bob Dylan's version, and I know he wrote the song and everything, but even he said in an interview once that it was like Jimi was meant to play that song."

"I know. He makes it perfect beyond belief. I could listen to dat song over an' over fo' hours."

"Yes, so could I. I have many other favorites besides those too...I love that one by Joni Mitchell, 'A Case Of You.' It's just haunting. I enjoy 'You Can Close Your Eyes' by James Taylor as well, and of course, 'Landslide' by Fleetwood Mac."

"You got good taste, girl. Dis gon' be your kind o' record store, I'm tellin' you. All kinds of people like us here, instead of dose all caught up in what's new and meaningless." He squeezed her hand without thinking about it too much, and recommenced rifling through his section of music.

Ororo went to war with herself after that, trying desperately not to infuse meaning into his nonchalant touch, but it was difficult to erase the flesh memory of his fingers on her skin...they seemed to linger there throughout the rest of the time they spent in the store. Eventually, her and Remy made a few small purchases between the two of them before leaving, with Ororo using a little of the money Ali's mother had been kind enough to give her before she'd left for college.

When the pair traversed back into the warm daylight, it was like coming out of a dream back into reality. Ororo was aware that the Thursday afternoon she had looked forward to for so long was nearly over, and she was sorry to have to return to her regular life. Therefore, when Remy suggested they go and get a bubble tea before heading back, something she had never even heard of before, Ororo jumped at the chance to spend more time with him, even though it meant spending a few more dollars of the precious stash Mrs. Blaire had gifted her with. She hoped that whatever bubble tea was, it wasn't expensive.

To her surprise, Remy turned immediately around in front of the record store, and went up a short flight of four or five stairs, to another hole-in-the-wall place that boasted hours of 10 A.M. to 2 A.M. on the door. "So what else do they sell here besides bubble tea?" She questioned as they walked in to find a line of people.

"Dat's it...jus' bubble tea."

"Then why are they open until 2 A.M.? How many people drink this stuff?"

Remy laughed, not unkindly. "You can always tell when someone hasn't tasted 'dis stuff' yet...just wait. I predict sometime in de near future, you'll be back here in th' wee hours of th' morn for a bubble tea." _Hopefully with me, _he thought privately. For now, he pointed out the menu to her and helped her to choose a cold taro milk tea with boba in it, the tapioca 'bubbles' that were denoted in the business's main product. It was clear that Remy came in often enough to be recognized by the workers, and when he asked them if they would play the CD that he'd picked up downstairs, they acquiesced accordingly. While the "Slippery When Wet" album by Bon Jovi began playing over the speakers, Remy found them a table near the window. "So, you like dis music too?"

Ororo's ears tinged a little red. "Bon Jovi is still a god **now**...of course I like this album."

"Oh, you got de hots for Bon Jovi, huh? You an' every other femme on de planet. Ain't nothin' wrong wit' dat...he's a good lookin' guy. Not as good as me, o' course!" Remy flexed his arm playfully and Ororo laughed, but she also couldn't help noticing his muscle bulge handsomely beneath his t-shirt sleeve. She reminded herself a little bitterly that this act could very well just be a part of his game, _and if I'm really being honest here, the reason I'm so annoyed by it is because it's pretty charming._ She noted that Remy was quick to apologize after his antics, but she would never know that he did so because he could almost swear he'd caught a glint of something hard in his companion's eyes.

Unsure of whether or not he'd imagined what he'd just seen, Remy covered up his uncertainty by casually grabbing a game for them to play from a bin by the door. The box held supplies for Uno, checkers, chess, Hungry Hungry Hippos, and Connect 4, among other things, but Remy simply chose a regular pack of cards, since there were so many different games they could play with the single deck.

"I don't really know any card games, I'm afraid," Ororo announced to him, when he began to shuffle.

"Don't worry, I'll show you how t' play." They sat there sipping bubble tea, having War between them, Slapping Jacks, and Going Fishing. Ororo found herself laughing unexpectedly...she had not grown up playing many games. When he asked her if she'd like to see a trick, she replied yes, and was shocked when he found her card on the first try. Even though she knew it was a trick, she still had no idea how he'd done it...it seemed impossible!

"Do you know how t' shuffle?" He asked next. He could tell she would answer no; he'd noticed the uncoordinated way she'd held her cards. He pulled his chair over next to hers, all too aware that the Bon Jovi CD was coming to a close, along with their allotted time together. But he was not yet ready to leave the perfection of her company; if he could have chosen, he would have made the final song go on for eternity, just so he could spend more time with her. Placing the cards in her hands, he showed her how to manipulate them easily, folding them into each other over and over again until they were well-mixed. He cherished the moments when their fingers touched the most, and imagined that he felt an electric spark, a lightning strike, between them each time it happened. Eventually the CD was long over, and his friend at the register motioned for him to come and get it. The spell was broken and Remy replaced the cards in the bin, picked up his CD, and left with Ororo, their near-empty drinks still in their hands.

As they made their way back through the park, Remy sat down for a second on a bench and gently nudged Ororo into the space next to him. He took one long, last pull on his jasmine milk tea with boba, finishing it. "So, what do you t'ink of bubble tea?"

Ororo had finished hers in the same space of time that he had, and leaned forward, gazing into her empty cup. "I'm thinking of going back in right now and trying one of the slushies."

Remy smirked until she looked up at him, wondering why he was silent. "'How many people drink dis stuff?!'" He mocked her in a singsong voice. She laughed and pushed him away from her as he leaned in and kept going. "'Who comes here at 2 A.M.? I mean, all dey sell is bubble tea, after all!'"

Ororo put a playful finger in his face. "Alright, you've made your point. Bubble tea is amazing. Why can't they have this on campus, easily accessible in the dining hall?!"

"Because dey want you to blow all yo' money here instead...maybe dey in cahoots wit' de bubble tea owner," Remy smiled.

"I'm enjoying your use of the word 'cahoots.'"

"Yes, t'ank you. I didn' get into college on looks alone, you know. Dere's a lot goin' on up here, mon chere," he tapped his forehead and crinkled his eyes at his friend. Ororo leaned back smiling, just enjoying their easy companionship. "So, you gon' go home an' listen to dat CD you got?" Remy ended up asking a few minutes later. She let him pull it out of her bag to look at it. The cover read "Pat Benatar – Greatest Hits."

"Yeah, I think I just might. Maybe get a little dinner and then bring it back to my place, and just relax and listen to it."

Remy leaned back against the bench with her. "Eatin' alone is kinda, well...lonely. Don't you t'ink? Maybe you'd like it if I came back an' ate dinner wit' you?" He looked at her searchingly and Ororo didn't know what to think.

_Is he asking to have dinner with me at the Dining Hall, or in my room? If he means in my room, is that some kind of code for something else? _Her lack of expertise in this area made her somewhat suspicious, especially after what she'd heard from the girl across the hall in her dorm. A little too quickly, she replied, "No, uh, I think I'm all set for tonight. In fact, we probably should be heading back. I have a lot of homework to do." She stood up and failed to register a look of defeat in her companion's eyes. No matter how many rejections he experienced, and no matter how all right he pretended to be after each one, they still hit him hard; a nice little souvenir from his past as an unwanted child.

Remy stood with her and began to follow her back to their dorms, the sun setting all around them and leaving everything looking burnt around the edges. He turned the conversation back to school and their collective upcoming projects, the things he knew he should be talking about with her as her tutor for Academic Watch, rather than discussing the smoldering in his bones, the deep desire he had that spurred him to get to know her better. She was the first kindred soul he'd met in such a long time; with everyone else, sometimes he felt like he was just pretending to be alive.

As they approached the college, he let the conversation die down and said goodbye to Ororo, and watched as she walked away and the sun swallowed up her silhouette. He made his way back to the path of trees that he had shown her upon their first meeting, and walked there until the sun's rays faded into nothing, burning away the day that had ended with him being rejected by someone he'd hoped would trust him as implicitly as he trusted her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: _Happy New Year, everyone! I am __thrilled__ to __be __post__ing__ another section of a story close to my heart, and hope you will enjoy reading it. Please review, as it is such a nice surprise to receive comments! I still own no Marvel characters, but do own the events that occur in my stories. Thanks for reading!_**

**Something Out of Nothing** \- (part 6)

Fridays around the bustling college campus were an exciting time for most students. After all, there were parties to look forward to, outfits to plan, potential dates to worry over. Even the staff enjoyed the beginning of the weekend, but one academic advisor was still hard at work, despite her daily tasks having already been completed. Her red hair glinted in the setting sun as she waited for her final appointment, leafing through her calendar book to recall her upcoming responsibilities. _So many things to do, and so little time to complete them in, _she contemplated silently, until a gentle tapping sounded on her door. "Come in!" Her green eyes held a smile in them as Ororo Munroe entered.

"Hello, Miss Grey," Ororo greeted her quietly.

"Hello yourself!" Her warm demeanor helped the student in front of her feel more at ease. "How are things going this week?"

"They are good. My classes have been interesting, I've been getting my work in on time, and I've been sleeping more regularly than when we first talked."

"That's excellent. Please, have a seat," she offered, gesturing to the chair across from her own desk. "Remy tells me he dropped those books off already that he'd been planning to give to you. Have they been helpful?"

"Oh yes," Ororo nodded her head emphatically. "They have made studying much easier."

"Wonderful," Jean smiled. "So you feel overall that working with Remy has helped you get yourself back on track with your academic goals?"

"Yes, definitely." _Academic goals, sure, but personal life? _The song "Fire and Ice" last night from Pat Benatar's CD had hit Ororo just a little too close to home. At first, she'd berated herself for not taking him up on his offer to eat dinner with her, but then later took the song as a sign..."I wanna give you my love, but you'll just take a little piece of my heart." Satisfied that she'd made the right decision, she'd fallen asleep, only to be racked with dreams of Remy being swallowed up by the rays of the setting sun as he watched her walk away from him. He'd been silently engulfed, never to be seen or heard from again, and Ororo had shaken herself awake to escape from the horrible image. However, as is often the case, while she drifted back to sleep in the twilight, she forgot what had frightened her so badly in the first place...in the morning, there was only a lingering guilt in her mind, a sense that she'd made a mistake she couldn't quite put her finger on, and the young girl was simply used to feeling as if everything were her fault anyway, thanks to her father's careful indoctrination.

As Ororo silently pondered, the quiet between Jean Grey and her student lengthened a little too long. Clearing her throat to jar her advisee back to the here and now, Jean asked if she was thinking about her weekend plans. Ororo blushed and murmured an apology. "Um, I don't really have much of an exciting weekend planned, actually. Tomorrow is the first time I'll be attending an all-day weekend class, and the second half of the course is scheduled for next Saturday. I'm not sure what it will be like, but I needed an elective, so I chose pottery."

"Taking a weekend course was smart, Ororo. It'll be nice to be able to focus on the art all day long and make significant progress on a project, especially since the art rooms are on another campus altogether, one that we share with other colleges in the area."

Ororo was perplexed to hear that and mentioned that she had wondered where the building was, since she couldn't find it on the main grounds.

"Yes, unfortunately, you may as well catch the eight A.M. shuttle in order to arrive on time for the nine o'clock class, since traffic seems to always be bad. The pickup point is in front of the administrative offices, and I advise you to bring a lunch because there are only extremely limited food services on that campus." Ororo nodded and Jean asked her if she'd ever taken a pottery class before.

"No, but it has always seemed exciting to me. I've seen videos of people making pieces on a pottery wheel in the past, and wanted to try it myself. Have you ever taken a class in pottery-making, Miss Grey?"

Jean's eyes suddenly got a far-off look in them, which surprised Ororo. "My first husband, Scott, and I went on a date one time to a Friday night, couples-only pottery class." She laughed. "I had to beg him to go; he was so stoic and stuck in his ways. But one of my favorite movies is "Ghost," and the pottery scene in there is so romantic, and I guess I just wanted to experience something like that with him."

"I have never seen that movie," Ororo said quietly, feeling a bit portentous with the way her advisor was talking.

"Oh, you should; the story line is perfect," Jean assured her, and Ororo made a mental note to pick it up from the library. "Well, anyway, when we got there, I had trouble making the clay into anything recognizable, so Scott spent the whole night helping me mold it instead of working on his." She chuckled. "By the time we were through, he had a flat piece of clay that he insisted was a 'pizza stone,' and I had a little flower pot. The next week, he went to pick it up for me, after it had been fired, and when he brought it home, it was bright red." Jean blinked a few times and Ororo realized she was tearing up. "He said that he'd chosen that tone because it reminded him of my hair, his favorite color in the world."

"What happened to him?" The query was quiet; the young girl hoped she wasn't invading Jean's privacy.

Her advisor smiled with watery eyes. "Three years ago, he was on a business trip, having a meal late at night in New York City. The restaurant was just a tiny place in a neighborhood that Scott knew nothing about, but as he was eating, he saw a child run by, being chased by three large men." Jean paused and took a deep breath. "He left his meal when he heard the kid screaming." Ororo found herself at a loss for words, only able to watch as Miss Grey stood up and moved to stare out the window. "The three men were in a gang; they had ridiculous aliases...Blob, Quicksilver, and Pyro. I guess they thought that made them powerful, no one knowing their real names. Anyway, they worked for a woman named Raven, who stole street children and made them fight in an underground gambling ring. The kid they were after was only ten years old...he would have been killed." Jean folded her arms around herself as she remembered. "Scott ran after them and shielded the youth from being taken, barely even realizing what was going on. I don't know what possessed him to do it, but he never could stand to see a child suffer. Maybe it was because of his own upbringing," she added quietly.

Ororo nodded sadly, understanding all too well his motivation.

"He boosted the kid over a fence down an alley and told him to run to the police station. The only reason I found out any of this at all was because the kid was scared enough to do as he was told. As he ran, he looked back, and saw one of the thugs pull a knife and lunge towards Scott, too fast for him to escape. They slit his throat, and he bled out before anyone could help him." A tear rolled down Jean's cheek and she wiped it away, still looking out the window. "I miss him every day," she whispered, and Ororo found herself fighting back her own emotions at how unfair life could be.

"What happened to the three kidnappers?"

"They were eventually taken into custody and the gambling ring was exposed, so I guess Scott would feel that his sacrifice was largely worth it. After all, there are a lot of free children because of him, but it was a hard price to pay."

Ororo couldn't help but quietly offer her condolences. "I'm so sorry, Miss Grey."

Jean stood resigned and silent for a minute, contemplating the cruel hand of fate. "At least I can sleep at night knowing those three monsters are in jail, along with their leader." More composed now, she continued, "Scott was a good man, and I was lucky to have the years with him that I did. I wouldn't trade them away, even in exchange for ridding myself of this pain." She hadn't talked to anyone about her husband for so long, and it felt good to say his name aloud again. "So as far as pottery class goes, yes, I've tried it. And enjoyed it...I'm sure you will, too."

Ororo nodded and silently planned to make a clay piece for her advisor as a surprise if it came out well. "Thank you very much. I hope so."

"Please let me know all about it the next time we see each other," Jean offered, as her student began gathering her belongings. "And don't forget to stay on track with Remy."

"I won't," Ororo promised.

"Also, your father called me to see about your progress." Ororo's head snapped up, but she managed to keep her inner sensation of terror from showing on her face. "He's a very abrupt man, isn't he?" Jean tried to joke with her advisee, but honestly, she had been very off-put by Mr. Farouk's tone and questions.

Ororo's heart pounded as she tried to nod, hoping against hope that Miss Grey had told him as little as possible, especially in regards to the Academic Watch program.

Perhaps Jean subconsciously sensed Ororo's fears, because her next sentence was quite comforting. "I did not tell him about your participation in Academic Watch, since I felt that if you wanted to share that with him, you would tell him yourself." She did, however, take note of the fact that the young girl visibly untensed her body, and filed the information away to ponder over later.

"Thank you," Ororo replied, keeping her voice as even as possible, trying not to show that she felt as if she'd just escaped the gallows.

"You're welcome. I mean, after all, you are an adult, and should be treated as such."

_Can you tell my father that the next time you talk to him? _Ororo wondered bitterly before getting up to shake her advisor's hand. "I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me today," she said aloud. "And thank you for telling me about Mr. Grey."

"Mr. Summers," Jean said softly. "I was once 'Mrs. Summers.'"

Ororo squeezed her hand slightly, not sure what to say, but desperate to provide some semblance of comfort. "I'm sure he was wonderful."

Jean nodded. "He was. Thank you."

Ororo left the room with her bag, closing the door quietly behind her, while Miss Grey turned back to her desk, finally planning to leave for the day. But her self-composure slipped noticeably when out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a bright red flowerpot, filled merrily with daisies in a corner of her shelf. Leaning on her desk for support, emotion finally threatened to overwhelm her, the thought of having nothing but an empty apartment to return home to at the forefront of her mind.

* * *

The next morning, when Ororo arrived at the designated art building, she had some difficulty finding the correct class. The rooms fanned out in a maze from the main entrance, and were all so filled with interesting equipment and art pieces that she got caught up in observing them. By the time she finally arrived at the right classroom, she discovered that she was the last person there, and quickly took the final seat available, towards the back of the room. To Ororo's right was a wall, but to her left sat a completely unexpected individual. His great, hulking mass made him look more suited to the football field than the art room, but he seemed friendly enough, since he smiled at her as she sat down, dropping her bookbag to the side of her pottery wheel.

"Good morning class," the teacher began. "I am Professor Aquilla, and I'm very excited to be spending the whole day with you, but be prepared to work hard. Has anyone ever used a pottery wheel before?" Several people in the class raised their hands, including, to Ororo's surprise, the young man next to her. "Let us go over the basics again then, to either refresh our memories, or begin learning anew." She did a short demonstration for the class, then guided the students to retrieve their own supplies and begin working with the wheel.

Ororo was flustered from the start. She had been a decent artist in school, but purposefully picked the pottery class because she felt that her drawings and paintings never came out quite as she wished they did. She thought perhaps a more hands-on approach, one where she guided the actual art materials with her fingertips, would be more satisfying, but it was much harder to begin than the demonstration had made it look.

"Do you need help?" Ororo was shocked to hear someone speaking to her in a quiet Russian accent. It was the young man next to her, already set up with his work station, and beginning to shape his clay.

"Yes, thank you." She found herself blushing. He was quite handsome, with rippling muscles and kind eyes, and as she was not used to conversing with many men, when the opportunity arose, it always kind of caught her off-guard.

The rest of the class continued around them as he got up and helped her with her wheel. He showed her how to begin her pot, but when she tried it herself, it was difficult to move it into the shape she wanted. "Do you want me to help you start it?" He asked. Ororo nodded and let him take her seat. She watched as his hands expertly formed the clay into a recognizable shape. "If you want, you can feel how hard I'm pressing it." Ororo glanced around the room to see if anyone was watching, but everyone seemed to be concentrating on their own work, including the teacher, who was helping another student who was having trouble. Ororo's heart began pounding a little faster as she decided to take him up on his offer, and willed her face to stop burning. She reached out towards his hands, which utterly dwarfed her own, and touched them lightly, trying to feel the pressure he was using to shape the clay. "You see?" He continued. "Is not difficult once you get the hang of it. Now you try." He vacated her spot, letting go of the clay, and it immediately began to wobble. Quickly, Ororo sat down and tried to regain control, but just made a mess of things, this time pressing it too hard. She sighed in frustration and her classmate smiled. "Is okay. Just try it again. Do you want me to help you form the first one with your own hands?" Ororo felt nervous pangs in her stomach but knew that she needed assistance, and that there was no reason to be afraid of his offer.

"Yes please," she answered meekly, and felt him reach around her softly, cupping her hands in his own. For such a large, muscled person, he was surprisingly gentle, Ororo pondered.

"I hope this is not too close for you," he mentioned, as he helped her begin to form the clay. "Growing up in Russia, people were much more affectionate than they are here."

Ororo laughed, partially out of nervousness, but replied, "No, no, I appreciate it. I'm not sure I would have gotten the hang of this without your guidance."

"It is just that I notice people here sometimes become uncomfortable while I am talking, and then I realize that it is because I am standing too close to them. Or like when my father came to visit me here at school and I kissed him on the cheek...I had missed him and not seen him in awhile, but I recognized from the looks that people gave me that that is a strange thing to do in America."

Ororo smiled at his genuine nature. He was very sweet, whatever else his shortcomings might be.

"Well how does that feel? I think you now are getting the hang of it." When Ororo acquiesced, he removed his hands from hers and stood back, wiping them off on the smock he was wearing. Ororo really did feel that she was doing better now; the pot actually seemed to be taking shape beneath her fingers. She still felt a little feverish from his touch, but he smiled broadly at her and she couldn't help but grin back.

"Thank you very much." She shut off her wheel for a second and stood up, wiping her own hands. "It has been a pleasure to meet you..."

"Piotr," he chuckled, slapping his forehead with the palm of his hand. "I can't believe I reached my arms around you without telling you my name. I am sorry. And what is yours?"

"Ororo," she laughed with him. "And there's no need to be sorry. You seem very knowledgeable in this area, and I was glad of your assistance."

Piotr made his way back over to his own wheel, and Ororo sat down at hers once more. Both began to work on their prospective projects as they heard music turn on from the front of the room. "She always does this!" Piotr motioned to the radio playing. "Helps us to complete our tasks. Now, my friend, listen to the sounds all around you. Feel the clay; watch the wheel spin. Make something from the depths of your heart."

Ororo marveled at his fingers, so large and well-suited for gross motor activities, and yet, delicately moving the clay into the most beautiful shapes. She could kick herself for being so presumptuous earlier. "Are you an artist?"

Piotr considered the question. "I suppose I am, though it is not what I am here at school for, if that's what you mean."

"What are you studying then?"

"I'm working towards my Health and Fitness degree so I can be a sports and fitness coordinator at a non-profit place." He watched his companion nod. "Makes more sense, da? I suppose no one is surprised to hear that."

"No, I – I –" Ororo didn't know what to say.

"Don't worry about it. I just mean that in looking at me, that is what a person would expect. After all, I do work out, and I enjoy all that comes with that. And I'm sure my girlfriend enjoys the benefits of it, too," he laughed.

_Of course he would have a girlfriend, _Ororo inwardly sighed, but it didn't cut her deeply. After all, they'd just met, and she had someone else on her mind anyway...

"Do you know my girlfriend, maybe? Katherine Pryde?" He asked eagerly. When Ororo said that she did not, he added, "Sometimes she will introduce herself as 'Kitty.'" But Ororo had met so few people on campus that she had still never heard of her. "Well, after you and I become friends today, you can meet her sometime," Piotr laughed. "She is beautiful and kind, and the direct opposite of me." Ororo was just about to rebut his remark about himself, when he continued, "Oh, I realize now how that sounded, haha. I just mean that she is very tiny, and always good about slipping into any place before you even expect it! But now I have talked a lot about me. Tell me about you."

"Well, I also lived somewhere besides the United States at first; I grew up in Cairo before moving here." She paused to fix her wilting pot. "I know what you mean about life being very different in America. It was hard for me to adjust as well after I moved here."

"How long have you lived here?" Piotr asked her. "For me, it has only been about five years."

"For me, it has been twelve, almost thirteen. I've really only ever seen New England. What about you?"

"When we first arrived, we were in Los Angeles. I hated it there! So bright and sunny all the time, no changes in seasons. I missed Russia badly, but it was interesting to be near the ocean for the first time in my life. Well, at least relatively nearer than I was when I lived in Russia."

"Yes!" Ororo yelped. "I know exactly what you mean! I had never seen the ocean growing up in Egypt, because I never left my hometown. When I first arrived here on the East Coast, I couldn't believe how close the water was to absolutely everything. I have fallen in love with it," she smiled.

Piotr returned her grin. "Da, the same for me, comrade. My father moved us to the East Coast after a year in California. He had been offered a better job out here, and I was so happy, since at least they have winter where we live now." His eyes widened at the thought of snow. "I am counting down the days until the first snowfall here!"

Ororo chuckled. "I have also always enjoyed the winter. Snow is just so magical when it is falling."

"I will look for you then, when the first flakes come down. Maybe we will run into each other outside and have a snowball fight." His grin was so childlike and sweet that Ororo laughed aloud. _Looks like Kitty is one lucky lady._

"So Mr. Jack-of-all-trades, tell me then what it is like to be both a fitness enthusiast and an artist."

"Well, although I just turned twenty-one, I am only a sophomore because I lost a little time when I first came over and needed to learn English more extensively. However, even though I've only been in college two years here, I have taken every painting class they have available."

Ororo was fairly impressed by that. "So are you now branching out into other genres?"

"Da. I'm trying the pottery now, and welding a little later in the semester. Then I'll see what else they have to offer."

"They have welding here? That sounds very interesting."

"I will let you know what it is like after I take it." It was nice that Piotr seemed to assume that they were already friends, and would continue to see each other. Ororo felt very welcome in his presence, a sensation she'd been craving since she'd first stepped foot on campus. "Your pot is now coming out quite nicely," Piotr commented.

Ororo was pleased to see that she was making real progress now, and hoped she wouldn't get too overzealous while talking and ruin it. She turned to look at his and noticed that he seemed to be making a vase.

He grinned sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders. "I hope Kitty will like some nice flowers in this when I have finished it."

_This may just be the sweetest man alive. _"I'm sure she will," Ororo replied. For awhile the two just worked on their own pieces, adding detail here and there as they saw fit, but Ororo's hands began to tire after awhile, so she turned back to her companion for conversation. "What sort of things do you paint?" She noticed that he never seemed to tire, just continued lovingly working with the clay.

"I have painted still lifes and sunsets, animals and scenes of nature, but what I most enjoy painting are portraits of people."

"I am very impressed by that. I know it is quite difficult," Ororo replied. For a second she realized that he must also have painted some nudes if he had taken every class at the university, but she quickly put the thought out of her mind as she felt the color in her face start to rise again.

"To find the beauty in a person that he or she may not know about, and then put it down on canvas, that is a joy," Piotr answered.

Ororo could only imagine how beautiful his paintings must be if his pottery was any indication of his artistic talent. "I would very much like to see your work sometime."

"Why not be a part of it then?" He offered. "I am always looking for new people to paint. Come and sit with me sometime, although be aware that it will take me several days to finish it."

"Really? You would want me to sit for you?"

He turned towards her. "Your complexion is lovely, and to put your stunning white hair on canvas would be an intriguing challenge, one that I hope you will allow me to try and complete sometime."

Ororo had never before heard her hair referred to as stunning. "I would love to do that with you, Piotr," she answered truthfully. "I mean, as long as your girlfriend would not mind."

He laughed lightly. "She is not like that at all. She will be happy to meet you and have you be friends with both of us. And anyway, she practically lives in my dorm room with me."

"And your roommate does not mind?"

"Nyet. He is a good guy...always respectful of both me and Kitty. And truthfully, he is not often in the room anyway."

"What's his name?" Ororo said unthinkingly, just keeping the conversation going as she worked on her pottery.

"Remy Lebeau," He replied and his companion's head snapped up.

"No sir!"

"Uh, yes," Piotr replied, looking confused. "Why, do you know him?"

"Yes, I do! He assists me in the Academic Watch program!"

Piotr laughed. "Now there's someone who no one would peg for a mentor, but he's a good one, isn't he? He is very spirited in his responsibilities, but is too handsome for his own good." He leaned closer towards Ororo, dropping his voice slightly. "Do you know how many women he has following him around campus sometimes? And men too! I've never seen anything like it...often he cannot get a moment's peace. Must be the accent," he shrugged. "Sad that people here do not seem to take to the Russian accent like that!"

"Don't worry, you have other charming features that are just as endearing," His companion reassured him, and he smiled at her, but Ororo could feel her heart clenching a little in sadness. So it was true...Remy did have many suitors pursuing him. It was not incriminating evidence in itself, and not even really a huge surprise; it was just that it made Ororo even more sure that she had to keep a certain distance from the man she was so attracted to, in order to defend herself from being hurt. She quickly decided to change the subject to keep from thinking about him any further. "So I guess you may as well tell me about your other passion, since we still have several more hours ahead of us. What are the fitness classes like?"

"Oh, very interesting." Piotr returned his gaze to his work as he kept talking. "For me, I have always liked working out, since I grew up on a farm and got used to hard, physical labor. I think it's easier for me to appreciate bodybuilding than other people though, since my body type is very well-suited to that lifestyle. Of course, Sylvester Stallone was also my childhood hero, ever since I got my hands on some American movies. Perhaps it was because he seemed to have as much of a grasp on the English language as I did!" Piotr joked, and Ororo laughed.

They spent the rest of a very pleasant day working on their requirements for the class and getting to know each other. Ororo shared with him her passion for psychology, and he asked if sometime she would help him understand the finer points of his own psych textbooks, since that was one class he couldn't quite get a handle on. She, of course, agreed, and they shared secrets together, like how his girlfriend kept an illicit bearded dragon named Lockheed in his room, and how late one night, Ororo had found an open door leading up to the roof, and climbed the stairs only to be greeted with a breathtaking expansion of stars, despite the city lights. "I wish I could have seen it too," Piotr stated.

"It was very beautiful."

He shook his head. "Now I will just have to imagine it and paint it, and then show you sometime so you can tell me if I got it right." Ororo smiled and the day continued on, their conversation and handiwork set to the ever-changing music at the front of the room. The teacher had quite a variety, but seemed to enjoy Brazilian music most of all and played it often, which made it difficult not to want to get up and dance.

All too soon, it seemed, the lunch break occurred. Everyone including the professor left the room, except for Ororo and Piotr. "It is nice she left the music on," Ororo commented, shutting off her pottery wheel and making her way over to the sink to wash her hands.

"Da. You can tell she is thoughtful from the way she talks to us," Piotr answered from another washing station where he'd already been cleaning up. "Doesn't this song just make you want to dance?" He wiped his hands and began to move much more gracefully than Ororo would have thought possible. She laughed aloud as he turned in a spin, but became nervous when he gestured for her to come and join him.

"No Piotr, I would not want anyone to get the wrong idea."

"Uh, comrade, there is no one here." He stated matter-of-factly. "And who are you worried about? Kitty? She would not think anything of it. She knows I love to dance, and trust me, my heart belongs to her and only her. You do not have to be afraid because I am a man. I will not touch you disrespectfully."

His honesty made Ororo feel sheepish; she knew she had misjudged him. But that had been only part of the problem...she knew almost no dance moves at all, and her nerves got the better of her. She would hate to make a fool of herself in front of her new friend.

"So?" Piotr prompted her from her silence. "What are you waiting for?"

"I, um, I...I don't know this song," Ororo finished lamely.

"Neither do I! It will not matter. Come, and we will dance together, in honor of our new-found friendship."

_Well when you put it like that, how can I refuse? _ Ororo crossed the room with lead feet, dreading what would come next, and hoped that no one would catch them unawares. She kept her head down towards the floor, watching his feet as he moved to the music, and worried about how she would manage to do the same.

Piotr stopped for a second and really looked at her. "Ororo, are you...nervous?" His companion began blushing profusely. "Have you ever danced before?"

"Of course I've danced before," his friend groaned. "But I have never felt that I was very good at it, and I don't really know what to do right now."

Piotr rolled his eyes, not unkindly. "Oh tovarisch, it will be okay. Here, I will help you," he smiled wide and took Ororo's hands, pulling her slightly closer to him. "Now, I will not touch your hips, in case that will make you more uncomfortable, but just move them in the same way that I am moving mine."

Ororo thanked her lucky stars for his sensitivity, then began attempting to mimic his movements. At first she seemed to be making no progress, but then Piotr directed her to close her eyes and feel the music in her bones. The song reminded her of a jungle, with many creatures making different noises, and the sun shining brightly, and the glorious day unfolding before her, and when she finally tapped into that and began moving as if she were a flower greeting the morning, she heard Piotr whoop in delight, and opened her eyes to see their bodies flowing in sync with each other.

"Do you feel it, malyshka? Is the music part of you now?"

His earnest enjoyment of her dancing with him made the experience even more delightful. _This is why people like to dance, _Ororo realized. _It__'s__ fun! _She laughed and kept moving until the song ended, even going so far as to dance around the room with Piotr.

When they both sat down to eat lunch together, Ororo marveled at how nice it was to meet someone at school who could just be a friend, and really have a connection with them. She would never have imagined she would get to know someone like Piotr, who eventually told her that his full name was Piotr Rasputin, and that his family resided in Brooklyn, New York. Ironically, their home was right near where Katherine Pryde's parents lived in the same area! "Our families are only ten blocks away from each other, but we had never met before coming to school here." Piotr shook his head as if to say, 'imagine that,' marveling at the fated coincidence of them both choosing the same New England school, and then randomly being placed in the same orientation group to meet.

"It is something to think about; that's for sure," Ororo conceded.

After another few hours in class and several shorter breaks, it was finally time to return to the dorms, but Ororo found herself reluctant to leave. Regardless, she began to gather her things and turned her cell phone back on, since she was in the habit of shutting it off in order to keep from getting distracted. Piotr saw what she was doing and asked for her number, so that he could paint her portrait sometime like he'd wanted to, and Ororo just couldn't believe it; two beautiful men had given her their phone numbers in just a few short weeks' time. _College is awesome, _she smiled. "Sure, no problem." As they exchanged information, Ororo was secretly glad that Remy had been the first to request her number, however, since it had kept her from acting surprised and foolish when Piotr asked for it. _Remy. _ Ororo hadn't allowed herself to think of him again until that moment, and she suddenly wondered how he was doing. _Maybe I should text him on the ride home._ But would that give him the wrong idea, that maybe she was the type of girl he could easily take advantage of, since she was interested in him? Ororo wasn't sure, and thus, put the situation out of her mind as she boarded the shuttle with Piotr.

"I cannot wait to see my mishka when I get back," he told Ororo. "Eight hours without her would have been torture if it were not for you." He smiled at his new companion. "Why don't you come down to dinner with me and meet her?"

Ororo had been all set to politely decline, but then she realized both that she was starving, and that this would be an excellent opportunity to meet another potential friend. "You know what? That sounds lovely. Thank you for inviting me." _If she's half as kind as he is, I'm sure I will like her very much. _"I would just like to change and then I will meet you there."

They arrived back at their own college campus and Ororo returned to her dorm room. As she was fumbling into clean clothes, her phone began to ring and she saw that it was Alison. _I'll call her back later, since I'm late right now, _she decided, and made her way down to the cafeteria.

Piotr was not at all hard to spot since he was so tall, and as Ororo approached him, she noticed a pretty brown-haired girl standing next to him in line, laughing with him over the food choices set before them. Ororo waited until they'd gotten their plates together, then gathered her courage and went over to the couple, as ready as she'd ever be to introduce herself to a perfect stranger. Luckily, Kitty was just as friendly as Piotr had made her out to be, and she let Ororo know that her boyfriend had been telling her all about the wonderful new friend he'd made in class that day. "It's nice to be able to put a face to the name! Are you new here?" Her and Ororo got along swimmingly as they talked throughout the whole meal, along with Piotr. Kitty's brown eyes were full of laughter, and everyone that passed her table seemed to know and greet her. She was a computer science major and loved going to the arcade, which Ororo found fascinating, since she'd only been to one a single time in her life for Alison's third grade birthday party at Chuck. E. Cheese. "You've only been to an arcade once?! We have to go sometime," Kitty told her. "There are some more adult-oriented ones around here, and you would love it! We'll save some money and then we'll go." She worked on the school newspaper and offered her new companion a job copying the papers every once in awhile, if she wanted to make some extra cash. Ororo jumped at the chance and said she'd meet her there the next day for a few hours in the evening. Overall, Ororo enjoyed her meal more that night than any other she'd yet eaten at college, and returned to her dorm room with another new number in her cell phone, namely, Katherine Pryde's.

After locking her door behind her, she flopped down on her bed and marveled at how good it felt to have friends. _Remy was right; you just pretend not to be __nervous__, and that's how you get to know people. _ She still couldn't believe that she'd let a complete stranger touch her hands as they molded pottery together...the previously fearful Ororo would never have been able to do that. "Of course, it helped that he was handsome as hell..." She whispered to herself, smiling.

Right then, the phone rang, and Ororo remembered that she had never called Alison back. Certain that it would be her, she instinctively answered the phone without checking the caller ID. "Hey, girl."

"Is that how you address your father?"

Ororo bolted upright and felt her blood run cold. "No – no sir. Hello. I hope you are well."

"Who were you just talking to?"

"No one. Well, I mean, Alison. I thought that it was her who was calling."

"Of course you did. That stupid girl has always tried to get you to talk like common street trash." Ororo's heart pounded with fury, but she knew better than to say anything against her father's words. "I expect that you've been upholding yourself with dignity at that school, still adhering to the parameters that I set up for you at home."

Ororo's anger continued to bristle; those "parameters" included going to sleep at 8 P.M., not speaking to teachers except when spoken to, and eating a sparse diet. "Yes, Father." She had actually done her best to break some of these, such as trying new foods each day, but old habits die hard and she'd found it difficult to exercise her new-found freedom in some ways.

"Good. You know what you can expect if you do not meet my requirements." Ororo shuddered at the tone of his voice. Yes, she remembered all too well. "I will see you at the end of the month, correct? We will go over your progress at that time, and determine if I deem you fit to return to college. You would already be gone from there if your academic advisor had not told me yesterday that you have so far been performing at the level I consider acceptable: absolute perfection."

"Yes, sir." Ororo answered meekly, thanking her lucky stars for whatever prime words Miss Grey had chosen on her account the day before.

"I am glad to see that you are still able to hold your tongue, child. I had wondered if I would have to take care of that when you returned home. It is good to see that you have not let all the ideas one hears at college corrupt your fragile mind." His daughter bit her cheeks to keep from screaming at the injustice of his words, but he would never know that over the phone. "And Ororo, don't get any notions in your head about planning out your own life while you are away at college. You and I both know that what I decide is best, and you must follow the path that I set before you."

"Yes, Father," she managed to say, but it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Very good. I will speak to you again soon, and the next time I call, you had better greet me properly without me having to prompt you."

It took all of Ororo's willpower to reply, "Thank you. I will." She paused and then added, "Please tell Sooraya that I miss her."

Amahl Farouk grunted. "I will tell her what I see fit to tell her. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Father." Ororo waited until he hung up before closing the phone and setting it down. For a second she remained motionless, trying to calm herself, but it was as if all the joy from her day had been sucked away; there was nothing left for her to hold onto. Therefore, she did the only thing she knew how to do in these circumstances, and slamming her face down into her pillow, only stopped screaming when she could no longer breathe.


	7. Chapter 7

_***AN: **Thanks for your faithful reading, friends. All plot ideas are solely my own, although I don't own characters from X-Men. Please review because there's nothing better than knowing people are reading your stories! ~Ruby Sunrise~_

**Something Out Of Nothing**: Chapter 7

After her father's phone call, the horrific reminder that her life was not her own hit her like a ton of bricks. She retreated back inside herself, letting her shyness engulf her once more, and began dodging texts and phone calls from the few people who reached out to her, Alison included. In fact, for the present, Ororo almost reveled in the fact that Ali could do nothing to reach her. She just didn't think she could take any pep talks, sympathy, or even anger at this time; she was not in control of her own life, and it hurt too much to keep pretending she'd ever be able to have a normal existence. Instead, she did her homework like a zombie, rote memorization doing more for her than critical thinking at the moment, and ate alone in her room, shutting out any human contact.

The only appointment Ororo felt obligated to keep was the next night, when she met with Katherine Pryde to learn how to copy the newspapers. She was mostly silent throughout the training, which seemed strange to Kitty, since the day before they had laughed and shared stories with each other. "Everything all right, Ororo?" She asked as they finished up for the evening.

Her companion's eyes were dull, her answer short and to-the-point. "Yes."

"Really?" Kitty rifled through some petty cash to pay Ororo with for the training. "You just seem...I don't know, unhappy?"

The white-haired youth accepted her payment before answering in what she hoped was an even voice. "Oh, no need to worry. I guess I'm just quiet when I'm thinking things over."

They stepped outside and Kitty began locking the office. "Anything you'd like to discuss?" She looked imploringly at her new friend, trying hard not to press too much, since they didn't really know each other very well.

There was a tiny part of Ororo that almost wanted to give in, to dump all of her emotions out on this near-stranger, just because she was the first person that she'd spoken to since that crippling phone call, but ultimately, she couldn't do it...she had spent too many years practicing silence until it was her go-to defense mechanism. "It's nothing important." She let loose a small smile, trying to convince her companion that all was well, but Kitty was keen enough to notice that it didn't quite extend to her eyes. "I really have to be going now, though. I have some homework to finish."

"Okay, well, have a good night. Thanks for your help; I'm looking forward to working with you on the paper."

"So am I," Ororo told her more genuinely, and left for her own dorm after saying goodbye.

Piotr was expecting Kitty, so she began making her way towards his building, all the while pondering Ororo's strange behavior. _Why would her personality have changed so suddenly? Is she actually more quiet and reserved like she was tonight, and yesterday was just a fluke? _ It didn't seem likely since Ororo had originally been quite friendly, clearly interested in her new companions and what they were saying, whereas today she hadn't asked Kitty a single question. "Ugh, people are so much more baffling than computers," she muttered as she walked along.

"Spoken like a true nerd!" Remy ribbed her, leaping out suddenly from the shadows nearby. Poor Kitty jumped about a mile.

"Remy LeBeau, I HATE YOU," she seethed, slapping his arm over and over. "Give me a freaking heart attack, why don't you?"

Her companion laughed and put up his hands in surrender. "You a vicious little sprite, neh? Just seen you walkin' along an' couldn't resist de opportunity."

"Well you can wipe that dumb smirk off your mouth, or else I can have Piotr wipe it off for you." Kitty raised her eyebrows at Remy's look of mock hurt. "That's right, I am not against playing the very-large-boyfriend card! And not to mention the fact that I'm sleeping over, so you just may find yourself left out in the hall in nothing but your boxers in the middle of the night." She grinned evilly. "Now that's a prank I can get behind."

"Wouldn't be no worse than the time you remotely changed my laptop background to de Care Bears right befo' I got up t' give my final Powerpoint presentation in Freshman Speech," Remy told her pointedly as she began to laugh. "Dat teacher still calls me 'Funshine' when he sees me."

"Professor Langley _is_ a jerk," Kitty chuckled. "But you have to admit you deserved it, going on and on about how I was too short to reach things!"

"Girl, Piotr and I had t' _lower _de bar in de closet for you so you could reach your clothes wit'out a stepstool," Remy replied drily.

"Whatever, I'm just saying you'd better watch out for us little ones. We've developed superior intelligence to overcome our other weaknesses!"

"If you say so, chere," her companion grinned, and the pair began making their way towards the dorms again. "So, where were you on dis fine evenin'?"

"Training a new employee. Actually, I think you know her..." Her pause was calculated; she wanted to gauge his reaction. "Ororo Munroe?"

Remy's poker face was perfection as usual, and Katherine had no way of knowing that his heart leapt in surprise. "Yeah? How you meet her?"

"It was Piotr who introduced me. They spent a pottery class together yesterday and became friends. I guess it came up that you were Piotr's roommate," she offered, filling in details he was just about to question. "She said that you tutor her each week in Academic Watch."

"'Tutor' is stretching it. She don' really need my help," Remy shrugged. "She jus' fell in wit' me after havin' a bad week."

Kitty stopped short just before the door to their building. "Does that mean she talks to you then about things that are bothering her?"

"I don't know," Remy looked at her weird. "I mean, I guess so. Says she feels alone here, dat people aren't always nice to her. Tells me some experiences she had growin' up when we get to talkin', so yeah, I guess she opens up t' me."

"Then maybe you should call her this evening."

"Why, Kitty?" He squashed feelings of nervousness down and reached out to open the door for her, so they could begin making their way up the stairs.

"Something was wrong with her tonight at work. She didn't talk barely at all, whereas yesterday she was laughing and enjoying herself with me and Piotr. I asked her if she was all right and she basically gave me the brush-off, even though she was nice about it. Maybe she would tell you what's going on because you know her better."

Remy stopped on the landing and turned to his companion. "I'm not gonna call an' harrass her if she wanna be left by herself."

"You just told me she feels isolated here," Kitty pointed out to him. "Maybe the whole reason you two got put together was so you could change that for her." She shrugged and opened the door, continuing down the hall to Piotr and Remy's room, choosing to leave their conversation at that, but was pleased to find that Remy didn't follow her. Instead, she caught one last glimpse of him pulling his phone from his pocket in the privacy of the stairwell, as she greeted Piotr in the open doorway of the dorm.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ororo lay in darkness in bed, waiting for slumber to overtake her. She would usually put on music or a favorite TV show to fall asleep to since it made her feel less alone, but tonight she couldn't fool herself with outside comforts. Behind closed eyes, she tried not to worry about what dreams she would have that evening, especially since last night had brought back childhood terrors that she'd never quite forgotten. The young woman pulled her down blanket tighter around her in response, and willed her mind to stop playing games so that she could have a moment's peace, but it was then that the chiming of her phone broke apart the silence in the room. _Probably Alison trying to reach me again_, Ororo sighed to herself, and reached over to grab her cell, which was charging nearby. She was dumbfounded to see that the text was from someone else entirely, and imagined his drawl as she read the words.

_**'You awake, chere?'**_

_ Should I even answer back? _ Ororo pondered, still not wanting to talk to anyone really, but curious to find out what he wanted at such an unexpected time. _**'Yes, but not for long,' **_was her eventual reply. _**'How come?'**_

A few minutes later, Ororo was surprised when she received,_**'Just was thinkin bout you,'**_ and had no idea what to say back. Luckily, he sent another text a short while after: _**'How was your weekend?'**_

She wanted to be honest with him, with anyone, and say that she felt so out of control that she had to will herself to breathe, but that would expose her carefully portrayed façade, the one where she had it all together and was totally functional, never giving anyone cause for alarm. _**'It was okay.'**_

_** 'Only okay? Did somethin happen?'**_

Ororo's breath hitched. She hated to lie when she wanted nothing more than to yell and scream the truth about her life, but there was nothing she could say that wouldn't get her into trouble one way or the other. She felt tears forming at the corner of her eyes, but managed to type out two simple letters, the falseness of the text burning a hole in her heart. **_'No.'_**

His text came in reply a few minutes later, but she wasn't sure she had sufficiently fooled him. He was far too intuitive for his own good, in her opinion. **_ 'All right. Well, I'm lookin forward to seein you Thursday. Hey, you met my roommate and his girl, huh?'_**

_** 'Yeah. They were really nice.'**_

_** 'They said the same bout you :-) Maybe we can all hang out sometime.'**_

Ororo sighed before replying. _**'I would like that.' **_He would never know how much she wished for normalcy she couldn't have.

_**'Well, don't wanna keep you from your beauty sleep, chere. **__**Seems to be workin for you, after all :-)' **_

His compliment caught her completely by surprise, and she felt the edges of her face grow a little warm. She smiled for what felt like the first time in days, and replied as nonchalantly as she could, _**'Th**__**anks. Goodnight, Remy.'**_

_** 'Goodnight, petit.' **_Ororo closed the phone and put it back where it was, covering up in her blankets once more, unsure of what to make of that entire conversation until a final chime broke into her thoughts. She reached over again and flipped her cell open to read, _**'I**__**'**__**m always here to talk if you need me.'**_ She made no reply, but rather unplugged the phone and cradled it next to her until she finally fell into the dreamless sleep she had been craving.


End file.
